Reps Slam SON On Cement Grade Policy

The House of Represen
tatives has slammed the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for failing to conduct due process before announcing new cement grade in the country.
This was contained in the report of the ad-hoc Committee on Public Investigation Hearing on the composition and pigmentation of cement quality in Nigeria, resolution No. (HR27/2014) which was presented to the general Assembly.
The lawmakers pointed out that in the course of the public hearing, SON published in some dailies, a new grading/categorization of cement and uses in the Nigerian market either to pre-empt the outcome of the committee’s assignment or to demonstrate that it was on top of its responsibilities in the regulation of the sector.
The Committee members said the action taken by SON was deemed a step in the right direction but that it was faulted on the grounds that its governing council whose responsibility was to look into cement quality was not properly constituted as in line with section 3 (2) of its Act and process did not comply with the process laid down in section 12 of its enabling Act.
The lawmakers stated further in the report that  non of the cases of building collapse in Nigeria which were investigated by relevant independent professional bodies was traced to substandard cement.
“There is therefore no scientific study that has arrived at an empirical conclusion linking any case of building collapse in Nigeria to substandard cement”, they said.
The Governing Council of SON should be properly constituted in line with section 3 (2) of the SON Act and in strict compliance with section 12 of the SON Act which should in the immediate require cement manufacturers in Nigeria to refool and upgrade their production lines to produce the 42 Smpa cement grade within a reasonable time taking into consideration the cost of social dislocation and Article 111.B.15 of the United Nations Guidelines on Consumer Protection, 1999, a protocol to which Nigeria is a signatory”, it further noted.
The House rather recommended that cement manufacturers in the country can reposition their plants within a reasonable time to enable them produce the 42 Smpa grade, which some of them are currently producing to meet the special needs of their customers.