Amid the growing problem of importation of sub-standard products, the Director-General (DG), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Osita Aboloma, has warned importers against the use of its logo to deceive the public to sell their goods.
He gave the warning at the workshop for members of the International Market Association Electronics (IMAE) in Lagos, which had as its theme, ‘Promoting self-regulation to eradicate substandard electronics from Nigerian markets.’
Aboloma, who was represented by the SON’s Director in charge of its Lagos Office, Kabir Mohammed, decried the act, saying it is unacceptable and fraudulent, assuring that culprits would be prosecuted.
Mohammed promised that SON would continue to ensure that substandard goods were reduced to the barest minimum. He urged dealers in electronics products to align with bringing in goods as Completely Knock Downs (CKDs) and Semi-Knock Downs (SKDs) for assemblage  and branding.
“You are belabouring yourselves for promoting and selling another man’s products for over four decades. It is about time you owned your brand and we have the standard to support you.
Holding this meeting with you is to bring standards to the door step of the trader and importer, because this market has customers from even outside the shores of the country.
So, when you apply standards, it will boost your trade, and impact on the nation’s economy through wealth creation and employment opportunities,” he explained, adding that the association should engage in self-regulation so as to mitigate the influx of substandard goods in the country.
Aboloma said the level of compliance to standards by importers had improved significantly, and reiterated that the body would intensify efforts at increasing its level of engagement with the public on the negative impact of substandard goods in the country.
Similarly, the Director, Inspectorate, Compliance and Directorate, SON, Obiora Manafa, advised the dealers to register their brands with SON, saying that as far as their products were successful at the safety parameters and market requirements, their goods would be patronised.
“We are also telling them that it is good for them to create their own brands instead of faking successful brands,” he said. He said from available records, SON has observed that most of importers and traders bring in substandard products which has failed to meet the prescribed standards.
The Head, Ports and Borders, SON, Yahya Bukar, explained that in spite of the organisation’s connection to the Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS), SON could only view documents on the platform, but could not examine containers easily except invited by the customs.
“We sometimes view a document, but the information of the document is different from what we have in the container, most of the times it is difficult to judge whether these goods meet our requirements since we do not have access to these containers and we cannot be able to verify the declaration,” he said, adding that some clearing agents try to connive with the importers to circumvent the laws.
He stated that the SON was  prepared for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), but stressed the need for the SON to be positioned at the ports for Nigeria to be competitive when the trade deal commenced.