The Director General, Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, on Monday, said the agency has confiscated fake and counterfeit products worth over N20 billion.
Dr. Okeke made this known during a sensitization campaign organized for Maritime sector stakeholders on roles of standardization in growing business and ensuring safety in Kano.
The Director General who was represented by the Director, Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Talatu Ethan, said the injurious products have been destroyed and the organization has stepped up the prosecutions of suspects in connection with the fake and counterfeited products in line with the provisions of SON Act.
He further said the organization has made massive seizures in sectors such as LPG Gas Cylinders, tyre, cable, aluminium roofing sheets and Lubricants, where it ‘name and shame’ sub-standard lubricants manufacturers, importers and dealers.
According to him, "Concerning our monitoring and enforcement activities, let me tell you that for this year alone, we beamed sustained searchlight on some sectors where there have been sharp practices and short-changing of product end-users. We carried out massive seizures in sectors such as LPG Gas Cylinders, tyre, cable, aluminium roofing sheets and Lubricants, among others. In the Lubricants sub-sector, for instance, we have decided to ‘name and shame’ sub-standard lubricants manufacturers, importers and dealers. This is after we conducted proper classification and verification exercise on the sector which have now put us in a positive to know the unscrupulous dealers.
"In overall, our enforcement activities so far for the year ending have recorded a massive haul of confiscated fake and counterfeited products worth over N20billion. These life endangering and injurious products were publicly destroyed at the agency’s dumpsites across the country. In addition, we have since stepped up the prosecutions of suspects at the various courts across the country in line with provisions of SON Act 2015.
"Our appeal is that let us work as a team to curb the influx as well as prevalence of sub-standard products in the country.
"As maritime operators, your role in this regard, is urgently needed. Let us encourage and conduct increased self-regulatory practices. Let us know who and who are doing the right thing and then those sabotaging the nation’s economic growth by illicit trade and dumping of sub-standard products. Like conflicts and violence, anybody could be a victim of fake products- that cause loss of lives and property, revenue losses, jobs and employment losses, de-industrialization, low capacity utilisation of local industries and so on. We insist that all products whether locally made or imported must comply with the minimum requirements of the Nigeria Industrial Standards. Strict compliance to standards and quality specifications is good for all of us- government agencies, importers, dealers, businessmen, in fact, all operators.
"Let me equally use this opportunity to remind you that SON has since automated its processes and procedures to enhance trade facilitation in the nation’s maritime sector. The automation of services has been able to eliminate personal contacts or physical meetings for business transactions, thus eliminating corruption, checking touts and shortening time spent for business transactions, among other benefits.
"There is no doubt that the nation needs to key into the fast lane of a rapidly globalizing world as well as highly globalised market. One of the ways of becoming a global market player is to put in place the required state-of-the art modern facilities especially needed to facilitate trade and commerce in line with the policy goals of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), popularly known as Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.
"Though, SON has since launched its services on trade porta and digitalised most of our process, however for the agency to really come into the business of trade facilitation, it has been organising and conducting sensitization seminars or workshops for operators and stakeholders involved in the import/export businesses at the nation’s entry points-seaports, land borders and airports. The unprecedented integration of SON’s e-certificates and services into the Nigeria Integrated Customs Services (NICIS) therefore, requires commensurate positive responses by stakeholders which effective enlightenment campaign such as what we are having now could engender," the Director General, Dr. Okeke however stated.
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