PHCCIMA President Seeks Prosecution Of Fake Products Importers

The President of PortHarcourt Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mine and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), , Eze Mike Elechi, has called on the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other regulatory bodies to ensure the prosecution of importers of fake and substandard products into the country.
Elechi made the statement while speaking as a guest during a sensitisation programme by SON in Port Harcourt, recently.
He said that consumers were going through difficult times due to the activities of fake importers who he said have flooded the country with fake and substandard products.
The PHCCIMA boss maintained that SON and other related agencies must, as a matter of urgency, faction out strategies on how to tackle the menace of fake products.
The motive, according to him, was to ensure that Nigerian populace got assurance and confidence in the product and services they consume.
Earlier in his address, the Director General/Chief Executive of SON, Malam Farouk Salim, explained that SON was mandated by enabling Act: No. 14 of 2015 to register, certify and regulate products for retail in Nigeria.
Salim noted that the sensitisation programme was another strategy of discouraging importation of substandard products into the country, hence the introduction of “Product Authentication Mark” (PAM) to ensure the authenticity and traceability of SON regulated products.
The SON DG also called on investors, consumers and other stakeholders to support the agency’s effort so as to win back public confidence.
In his paper presentation, the Director, Product Certification, Engr. Shaibu Onucheyo, opined that everybody was a consumer irrespective of his or her status, hence the need to assist SON in conducting check before buying any product in the market.
“The introduction of Product Authentication Mark (PAM) will provide an online platform for consumers to directly authenticate the validity of certification on SON regulated products before purchase and thus have value for their money; it will also give protection to genuine products on sale in the market”, he said.
Without patronage, he avered, substandard, fake, cloned and counterfeited products would have no market.
However, he has appealed to importers to apply and acquire the sticker from SON at the cost of N3.00 only.

By: King Onunwor