SON says upholding standards will help Nigeria excel in AfCFTA space

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has warned that there is no short cuts to excel and benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), except traders acknowledge and embrace highest standards.

The Director-General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, gave the advice at a sensitisation workshop for Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria (EDAN) at the Alaba International Market, in Lagos.

Salim said the advice was to ensure the market took its rightful place as the largest market in West Africa, in the AfCFTA and to attract customers globally.

He revealed the agency’s willingness to work with the association in ensuring that the market was free from substandard goods.

“In other for the market to have a good reputation and to have more customers across the world especially with this open border policy in the AfCFTA, it is very important for them to police themselves, find out those people with bad products and report them to us so that we can take them out of the market.

“So far, they have not given us a reason to doubt their commitment towards eradicating substandard goods.

“I commend the association for serving Nigerians with quality products, because if not for you, the country would have been dominated by foreign goods.

“Anybody here with certification or who has genuine products does not have a problem with SON,” he said.

The SON DG advised the association to always insist on quality products, warning that substandard electronics and electrical products were life endangering products capable of causing destruction.

“You are dealing with electronics and electrical products and these goods can cause fire explosion that would destroy lives and property and it is not discriminatory.

“Once you introduce a bad product into the market, you are exposing not just consumers to danger, but also your families.

“We are not here to spoil your business so let us collaborate as we are going all over the country to take the gospel of standardisation nationwide.

“Let’s join hands to ensure no bad products is imported to Nigeria. We would not allow people to bring their problems down to the country and still get away with it,” he said.

Executive Chairman, EDAN, Mr Fabian Ezeorjika, said the market authority in complementing the efforts of SON had constituted internal mechanism to checkmate the efforts of those indulging in manufacturing, importation or exportation of sub-standard products.

He added that the association had also constituted an adhoc committee called Standard and Anti-Adulteration Committees, vested with the responsibilities of standardising and regulating the quality of products in the electrical section.

He stated that the association would continue to work with SON to arrest and punish defaulters according to the association’s constitution and report them when necessary.

“We made it very clear during our inauguration in 2016, that we will continue to partner with governmental agencies to eradicate sub-standard products out of the market.

“We shall uphold and implement government policies formulated to keep sub-standard products totally out of our markets,” he stated. He assured SON of the association’s resolve to completely abide by its establishment act and regulations to complement already existing cordial relationship between them. (NAN