A retreat designed to equip the Standards Organization of Nigeria, SON, with effective leadership skills to strengthen its performance in a competitive environment is to open in Calabar, the Cross River State capital next week.
It will last four days.
A statement issued by the organization said the programme which would attract egg heads from various backgrounds is intended to chart a new way forward against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to reposition SON.
The Standards Organization of Nigeria set up by law has the Statutory responsibility of ensuring that only quality goods which meet minimum industrial standards are allowed to circulate in the country.
According to the statement, a former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside would deliver the keynote address.
Peterside is being seen in managerial circles as Nigeria’s foremost Public Turnaround leader, given the feat he attained at NIMASA.
The DG/ CEO of SON, Farouk Salim said the organization is honored to have Dr Peterside join SON on “this agenda-setting four day retreat.
“We look forward to hearing Dakuku Peterside’s story of how he took NIMASA from an underperforming regulatory agency to a world class institution.
“We will have the privilege to learn of the philosophy that inspired him and the methods that gave him and his Team exceptional results”
Dr Peterside a former gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State will be speaking on the theme, “SON: Growing An Effective And Efficient Regulatory Organization.“
Issues pertaining to goal setting, art and science of execution for regulatory agencies, key performance indicators and stakeholder management will also be discussed during the four- day brainstorming event.
Dr Dakuku Peterside, author of the book, ‘Strategic Turnaround’ will be joined by other great organizational development experts at the retreat.
They include Tony Epelle, Managing Consultant & CEO of SAMUELSON, Dr Eric Ighalo, a renowned Trainer and Facilitator and Dr Joseph Odumodu, a former DG of Son.
Others are Barrister Osuagwu Sunny Uwanakwa, Chairman of SON Review Committee and Elijah Affi, Managing Director, Take-Out Media.
The strategy retreat organized by SON is the first major outing in a series of agenda-setting programmes that are designed to reposition the agency and set her on the path to becoming the foremost standards organization in Africa.
SON has been severely criticized in the past for failing to effectively monitor the quality of imported and locally manufactured goods.
Under the current dispensation, SON plans to ramp up its enforcement of standards in the next few weeks.
The plan is to turn Nigeria into hostile territory for the producers of substandard products.