SON Destroys N450m Worth of Substandard Products
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has destroyed fake and substandard products valued at over N450 million, in a move to prevent access to such items in the markets and discourage activities of importers of such products.
The Director-General, (SON), Osita Aboloma, vowed that SON will not relent in its fight against fake and substandard goods, stressing that the products were intercepted and impounded by the agency’s compliance and enforcement team located at various points across the country particularly in Lagos.
Aboloma during the destruction exercise yesterday, which took place at the
agency’s dumpsite in Epe, Lagos State, told THISDAY, that substandard goods are dangerous to lives, properties and the nation’s economic health, and called on all stakeholders including the media to join in the campaign to get rid of such products wherever they exist in the country.
“We are destroying these substandard products worth over N450 million. These products have been labelled substandard after we carried out due diligence and conformity assessment to requisite standards on them,” he said.
According to him, the products failed the conformity and integrity tests, maintaining that the decision to destroy them was to save lives
and property of Nigerians who may fall prey to these killer-products if allowed to circulate. “The substandard products we are destroying today ranges from bulbs, cables, tyres, shaving sticks and aluminum coils among others. We decided to perform the destruction exercise on two sites-Ogba and Epe.
We are destroying especially the expired tyres and bad aluminium coils at our Ogba warehouse. The tyres and coils require specialised mechanical equipment as well as special handling for their destruction
as their particles could be recycled and useful for other industrial purposes,” the Director General added. He noted that the destruction is a clear signal to all and sundry particularly purveyors, importers and dealers in fake and substandard products that Nigeria is no longer a dumping ground for substandard products.