LAGOS, JANUARY 10, 2017 – Dealers in substandard and adulterated products have been described as terrorists in view of the danger their activities pose to the security of lives and properties of Nigerians.
Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma speaking during a public sensitisation workshop organised for over 3000 manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and market associations by Christabel International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) on consumer advocacy in Onitsha, Anambra State.
According to him, the supply of substandard or adulterated auto and aviation spare parts, medical devices, construction materials, food and drugs, among others, pose great threat to the health, safety, environment, property and lives of the citizens.
Represented by the Director of Operations at SON, Mr. Felix Nyado, Aboloma said the negative impact of substandard or adulterated products to life and the socio-economic wellbeing of the country is very significant and needed effective prevention mechanisms.
Aboloma said some electronic platforms were being deployed by SON in tackling the menace of substandard products circulation. The paltforms include the mandatory conformity assessment programme (MANCAP) for locally manufactured products; 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.
According to him, SON is the National Enquiry Point for World Trade Organisation/Technical Barrier to Trade for accessing information to identify relevant standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures for businesses in Nigeria.
The SON chief announced the recent deployment of standards on e-marketing for products traded on the web as well as the adaption of the Global Standard (GS) Solutions by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) to counter the growing issue of counterfeiting.
The solutions, according to him, will provide unique identification keys to manufacturers and businesses that will help improve collaboration, traceability, transparency, security and visibility within the supply chain in real-time.
