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SON Clears Out Substandard Baby Feeding Bottles, others From Lagos Warehouse
The Standards Organization of Nigeria, SON, has confiscated fake and substandard tyres, solar batteries and baby feeding bottles products worth several billions of naira in Lagos.
SON says it has also evacuated the substandard products from warehouses located in various markets in Lagos State as part of efforts to rid the country of unwholesome products.
Briefing newsmen in Lagos, SON’s Director General, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, said the tyres were damaged because of the act of stuffing them into one another in containers for shipment.
Representing the SON DG, the Director, Inspectorate and Compliance Department, Mr. Pius Manji, explained during the raids that the evacuation exercise was to ensure that the tyres do not find their way into the nation’s market, adding that products have been tested but failed the critical parameters as a result of stuffing.
“The act of stuffing tyres into one another instead of bringing them in different containers has rendered the tyres dead on arrival in the country.
“If they are to bring 2,000 tyres in one container, they will now have the opportunity to bring in 8,000 tires, and in doing that, this compromises the quality of the tyres.”
Speaking further, he noted, “The tyres are made of wires and carbon, and the test reviewed found that the textile strength of the tyres has been compromised, so they are no longer fit for use, and this is why we are going to destroy them. They may look nice in the eyes, but we rely on scientific investigation and analysis.”
The SON boss revealed that the solar batteries seized were fakes from known brands, but they could not withstand the rigors of the different quality testing, hence no longer safe for public use.
“These solar batteries are very expensive, so consumers must have value for the money. The world is going fossil fuel; we will discourage anything that will hinder Nigerians from getting it right,” he added.
He also lamented that it’s scandalous that some bad elements can go as far as producing counterfeit baby feeding bottles just to make more money, as he urged those involved in the heinous crime of importing adulterated products to look elsewhere, warning that the organization has zero tolerance for product counterfeiting.
Okeke emphasized that SON is the federal government’s agency vested with the onerous responsibility of standardizing and regulating the quality of all products in Nigeria.
And it has been successfully repositioned by the significant rejuvenation of the war on fake and substandard products for better results.
According to him, the SON Act No. 14 of 2015 has given the organization the power of enforcement, seizure, confiscation, and destruction of substandard products, including the power to seal off premises where such defective products are manufactured, stored, or sold.
The SON DG assured that under his watch, the body will fully confront architects of substandard products and make business miserable for them.
The organization, he further noted, has set machinery in motion to encourage participation of the organized private sector (OPS, in the standardization and review process in order to ensure improved competitiveness of Nigerian goods at home and abroad by encouraging quality assurance practices.
In addition, he said the organization now provides information, enlightenment, advice, and assistance to industries to match the required competitiveness in global trade and to motivate the workforce through steady investment in human resource development for the acquisition of skills in line with the latest technology.
To further tackle the danger posed to the lives and wellbeing of Nigerians by the criminal activities of those dealing in substandard and counterfeit products, Okeke said SON has deployed modern electronic platforms.
These platforms include the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme, MANCAP, for locally manufactured products; the off-shore Conformity Assessment Programme, SONCAP, for certification of imported products from source; product registration for documentation and traceability of all products in the market; and library services for access to relevant standards for local production, import, and export with ease, among others.