The Federal Government has launched a Digital Standards Platform aimed at transforming Nigeria’s quality infrastructure, improving access to industrial standards, strengthening public procurement and enhancing the competitiveness of Made-in-Nigeria products.
The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, unveiled the platform, describing it as a landmark reform that would deepen industrialisation, improve the ease of doing business and strengthen the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s Nigeria First Policy.
The platform, jointly developed by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and Goringo Consult Limited, is designed to digitise access to Nigerian Industrial Standards, certification services and compliance tools, making quality verification easier for manufacturers, businesses, procurement officers and consumers.
Enoh said the initiative also introduces a major procurement reform, noting that the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) Attestation Certificate, obtainable through the platform, has become a mandatory bid document for all Federal Government procurement involving goods, works and services where Nigerian Industrial Standards apply.
He said the platform aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria First Policy, stressing that locally manufactured products would enjoy greater patronage only if consumers had confidence in their quality.
Director-General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Dr Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, said the platform would improve consumer confidence by making it easier to verify certified products, identify genuine SON-certified manufacturers and eliminate counterfeit, unsafe and substandard products from the market.
According to him, Nigerians can now verify the certification status of products before making purchasing decisions and access reliable information through a single trusted digital platform.
Okeke also said the platform would provide affordable access to internationally recognised standards through SON’s copyright licensing agreements with global standards organisations, enabling users to purchase selected adopted international standards at up to 35 per cent below their original acquisition cost.
He added that the initiative would support the implementation of the Nigeria First Policy by reducing the cost and complexity of compliance, helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises formalise their operations, obtain certification and compete effectively in local and international markets.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, said the platform would transform government procurement by integrating quality standards into the purchasing process.
He disclosed that Nigerian Industrial Standards would soon be fully integrated into the Bureau’s e-Marketplace, enabling ministries, departments and agencies to identify, compare prices and procure verified Made-in-Nigeria goods and services with confidence.
Adedokun also confirmed that the Nigerian Industrial Standards Attestation Certificate is now compulsory for Federal Government procurement involving applicable goods, works and services.
The Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Jobson Ewalefoh, described the project as one of the first Public-Private Partnership initiatives delivered under the commission’s revised PPP guidelines, saying it demonstrated the success of recent reforms aimed at simplifying infrastructure partnerships.
He commended Goringo Consult Limited for successfully delivering the Digital Standards Platform, describing it as a major step toward improving quality assurance, transparency and competitiveness in Nigeria’s industrial sector.
