SON mulls management practices review

To achieve an enhanced administrative overview and monitoring in the standards control system, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has inaugurated a three man committee to review its practices.

SON in a statement said its Director General, Mallam Farouk Salim inaugurated the committee led by a former Permanent Secretary, Office of Head of Service of the Federation, Barr. Sunny Uwanuakwa , to review  its existing management practices  with a view to  strengthening the organisation  for improved service delivery.

S peaking during the inauguration, Salim described the occasion as historic and innovative,  as a bold step designed to go against the traditional  norms in an attempt to build strong processes for the organization, not merely as turning point but one  that would outlive individuals as part of its institutional pillars.

Overall, the DG SON mandated the committee to help examine the structure of SON, its processes and practices with a view to providing a template to address operational and service delivery, in addition to staff welfare challenges tailored to entrench equity and fairness as well as provide greater opportunities for staff to better contribute to the attainment of the organisation’s goals.

The committee’s general and specific  mandate includes,  control and coordination, communication and effectiveness, manpower dispositions and manning levels, recruitment, postings and transfers as well as public perception; among others. Salim said that the committee members were carefully selected based on “their rich pedigrees and experiences in the public sector and the management’s belief in their competence and ability to contribute to the growth of SON.”

To help the committee achieve its mandate, the SON boss said copies of departmental presentations containing  activities, achievements will be made available to it, and documented records of challenges and meaningful suggestions already obtained from interactions with Directors, Heads of Departments and Units as well as relevant portions of the handover notes provided by the last management.

This is even as he enjoined the committee to invite additional inputs, presentations, clarifications or opinions from members of the SON Management and the Staff Unions as they deem necessary; noting that “arrangements had been made for the committee to visit the organization’s   major operational offices in Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Kano to feel the pulse of the staff and have a broad view of the organisation.”

The committee has four weeks from the date of inauguration to submit its interim report and would be expected to submit its final report before the end of the year. In a brief remark, Uwanuakwa said that building strong institutions will guarantee ease of doing business and sustain economic growth.

Other members of the Committee include Pharmacist Mashood Oluku Lawal,a  retired director with the  Federal Ministry of Health;  and a former member of the SON Governing Council and the SON Director, Human Resources Management, Mr. Abdulkadir Usman, who will serve as facilitator.