Nigeria’s standards agency, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has pledged its 100 per cent commitment towards protecting local manufacturers and industries against the influx of substandard goods into the country.
Osita Aboloma, the director general of SON, said the agency would continue to be proactive in its quest to rid Nigeria of substandard products, which he said brings nothing but economic loss to the nation.
The SON boss made this pledge when he took members of the Cable Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CAMAN) to the two residential buildings in Ajangbadi area of Lagos State where it uncovered over N8 billion worth of Nigerian cloned cables last year.
An enforcement team from SON had uncovered over N8billion worth of cloned cables at two residential buildings in Ajangbadi,Lagos State. The team discovered the warehouses where 20 different brands of cloned cables were kept.
Aboloma said: “We have held them down for the past six months. We are processing them for ratification and when necessary, it would be destroyed subjected to the final order from the court that is coming out any moment from now. We want to assure Nigerians that the battle to rid Nigeria of substandard cables is an ongoing battle, which we are fighting with the cable manufacturers of Nigeria.”
He said the unscrupulous importer cloned Nigerian cables already certified by SON, in deceptive packages to deceive the unsuspecting Nigerian populace, adding that more of such firms would be uncovered courtesy of its proactive surveillance across the country.
“They saw their brands are being threatened and they came to us and we have been able to arrest the situation. We will keep on doing that to discourage anybody that wants to take advantage of our attempt to create an enabling business environment for local production. Our cables are the best in Africa. They are safe to use and any cable that does not conform to our MANCAP is therefore not certified by us. We will keep on going to the markets to conduct surveillance exercise and inspecting factories of these cable manufacturers to make sure they all conform to the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) and whenever they fall short of standards, we will clamp down on them,” he said.
According to him, the eventual destruction of these substandard cables would send a strong signal to unscrupulous importers that intends to fake or clone any successful brand in Nigeria.
He, however, called on the general public to join hands in the battle against substandard products in the country, saying that to win the war against this nefarious trade by purveyors required a collective effort.
“We are calling on the general public to work with us and if you see something unwholesome, say something. The cable manufacturers, our formidable partners in quality assurance and in collaboration with the Nigerian police and sister agencies were able to intercept these cables before entering our markets. We have been processing them and on the verge of corrective or destructive measures. This is why we invited them to see what we are doing and what we intend to do,” he added
Responding, a member of CAMAN representing its president, the chief executive officer (CEO), Coleman Wires and Cables, George Onofowokan, commended SON for its tireless effort in safeguarding lives and property of Nigerians, maintaining that SON and CAMAN have been partners in progress over the years to combat the challenges hindering cable production in Nigeria.
In his words, “We have had good partnership with SON and today we have been slated as one of the main industry in promoting made-in-Nigeria products. It has become a scenario where people are trying to adulterate or clone our cables in order to take advantage and thereby putting people’s life in danger. This has made us strengthen our partnership with SON to make people actually see that this made-in-Nigeria is not only a fight by us that we should be proud of locally made cables, but also fight against what people do wrong,” he said.
He therefore called on Nigerians to support SON in its quest to reduce the preponderance of substandard goods into the country, saying that this is the surest way to address the illicit trade.
