SON destroyed N3bn products in six months –DG

Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Dr. Joseph Odumodu

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria has destroyed sub-standards products worth N3bn in the last six months, the Director General of the agency, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said on Monday.

Odumodu gave the figure in Abuja while speaking on the sidelines of a National Sensitization workshop for National Association of Nigeria Traders.

The DG said the agency would continue its zero tolerance campaign against sub-standard products, adding that a new legislation was in the pipeline to penalize dealers and marketers of fake products.

He said, “A lot of products are not registered, we gave a deadline and the deadline expired in June but people have registered less than five per cent of the products.

“Why are they avoiding registration? It is because they know they are not selling the right products and they don’t want us to subject them to any evaluation and that is why we are doing this sensitization.

“After this exercise, from September we will enter the market and we shall remove products that are unregistered. Every unregistered product is substandard and we would remove them because we have the full backing to do so.

 “We have destroyed goods worth about N3bn in the last six months and as I am talking to you, our warehouse is almost full again after the destruction. Very soon, we will also destroy more.”

He lamented the huge amount being lost as a result of the destruction, saying the nation would have benefited tremendously if the money was spent on genuine businesses.

Odumodu called on the support of the marketers in the fight against sub-standard products as the sale of inferior goods was undermining the good name and reputation of the country.

Also speaking at the event, the President of NANTS, Mr. Ken Ukaoha commended SON for the workshop but added that some of the traders and importers were ignorant of the substandard products they buy and sell.

“Many find it difficult to identify these products from importing countries. But because life is involved and because there are rules, the trader or importer can no longer be shielded from the blame or negligence,” he said.