SON conducts quality inspection on face mask factory

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria has undertaken a quality assurance inspection of Cross River Garment Factory in Calabar, Cross River State.

The move, according to the agency, is part of efforts aimed at tackling the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.

The factory is into mass production of Ankara barrier masks.

SON said in a statement on Sunday that following the “No masks, no movement” policy of the Cross-River State Government, it had become imperative to carry out the inspection to ensure that masks being produced meet the required standards.

The SON inspection team was led by the Cross-River State Coordinator, Michael Ogbuji, on behalf of the Director-General, Mr Osita Aboloma.

Speaking during the tour, the acting Managing Director of the CRGF, Mr Edet Joseph, described the Ankara material being used for the barrier masks as 100 per cent cotton and sourced from neighbouring Abia State.

This, he said, was in line with the backward integration strategy of the government.

He stated that all precautionary safety measures were being observed in the mass production of the reusable masks with capacity for 100,000 units per day.

Ogbuji said the company’s initiative was in response to the Federal Government’s call for sustainable production of masks in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He explained that the inspection was aimed at ensuring that firms producing masks complied with the standards provided by SON to meet Nigeria’s need during the COVID-19 pandemic.