QUALITY CONTROL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: THE MANDATE OF STANDARDS ORGANIZATION OF NIGERIA

Abstract

At the fulcrum of ensuring the maximization of the benefits that accrues to economic integration, as well takingadvantage of the benefits of the theory of comparative advantage is; standardization. The Standards Organizationof Nigeria was established with the mandate of ensuring standardization with respect to imports and exports inNigeria. This mandate is achieved by the publication and review of Nigeria’s Industrial Standards and themeasurement of these industrial products against these preset standards to ascertain an effective system of qualityassurance within the country. Since its coming into force, the organization has published about 965 industrialstandards and has been involved in an array of activities geared towards ascertaining standardization of goodswithin the country. However, this paper finds that there appears to be a number of challenges that hinders the fullactualization of the mandates of the organization, a fact which has contributed to the influx of substandard goodsinto the country and impacted negatively on the health and safety of the citizenry as well as the economic growthof the country. Using a desk-based methodology, this paper considers the statutory mandates of the Standardsorganization of Nigeria, the activities of the organization in achieving its mandates, the challenges that hindersthe attainment of its mandates, and concludes by proffering recommendations.