SON destroys substandard imported gas cylinders, electric cables, others
By Fredrick Wright
The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has decried the spate of substandard products entering the country, as it seized and destroyed thousands of imported substandard gas cylinders, electric cables, lubricant oil, stuffed new tyres, unapproved cigarettes and substandard low-grade roofing sheets.
Destroying the items before journalists in Lagos, the Director General of SON, Farouk Salim said: “I am unhappy that a few Nigerians sometimes in collusion with foreigners continue to endanger the lives and properties of our people in the quest to amass wealth thus affecting our nation’s economy negatively,”
He said the substandard products in focus were intercepted at different locations and markets across Lagos such as Apapa, Navy Town, Kirikiri among others.
He said: “We have subjected them to a rigorous standard and perimeters tests in our laboratories which are enjoying global accreditations and they all failed. Therefore, they cannot be allowed to continue to be distributed. The lives and properties of every Nigerian are sacred and must be protected as provided in the SON Act No. 14 of 2015.”
Salim said the dangers posed by stuffed tyres to the lives and properties of Nigerians, even if they are new, cannot be quantified, in spite of the huge costs expanded in purchasing supposedly new tyres which have become dead on arrival due to forceful stuffing and un-stuffing.
He added that: “SON in collaboration with relevant stakeholders have developed very stringent regulations for the production, importation and distribution of such products as LPG Cylinders, cigarettes and automobile tyres, yet we still have unpatriotic Nigerians and their collaborators bombarding us with the worst versions of these products in the name of doing business. They will continue to have SON to contend with as we shall not relent in apprehending them wherever they may be hiding, seizing the products, destroying them in the best environmentally friendly manner and prosecuting them”
Salim said the proceeds from these illicit activities are sometimes channeled into nefarious activities such as kidnapping banditry, armed robbery and terrorism while the negative effects lead to shut down of industries and the attendant jobs losses.
Assistant Chief Scientific Officer, Sector Head (Domestic Rubber) National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Lagos Liaison Office, Mrs Bisiriyu Adesewa, said NESREA was present to ensure proper disposal of the products.
“We appreciate SON for ensuring that substandard products don’t enter the market, but we are particular about what happens to these things after the destruction.
“We understand that most of them are going to recycling companies and the only one not recyclable for now is the oil and we will link SON with a facility that can help them dispose it so that there will be zero waste.
“The disposal process here is in line with our rules and regulations. The first thing is to dismantle and separate them, which they have already done, next is the recycling,” she said.
Head Federal Competition and Consumption Protection Commission (FCCPC), Lagos Office, Mrs Susie Onwuka, said the commission had a Memorandum of Understanding with SON and different sector regulators on removal of substandard goods from the market.
She commended SON for the massive seizures, noting that more work needed to be done.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Annex, Alagbon, Lagos, Mr Lawrence Iwodi, said the police was working with SON to ensure that standard was met in relations to goods imported into the country.
“SON has often referred cases of substandard goods to the Nigerian Police and we have carried out a number of investigations into these cases, we have a lot of convictions, some are still ongoing in the court and still under investigation,” he said.
Chief Operating Officer, MisCom Cables and Wires Ltd., Mrs Bukola Adubi, promised that going forward, the company would have a good relationship with SON so that more of this evil would be exposed.
“My visit here today has been eye opening and we have been in discussion with SON on this issue. This issue is affecting our legacy, brand and our bottom line.
“This menace given sometime, we will see an end to it and I will go back to tell my people that SON does actually have their back,” she said.
