SON destroys N10bn worth of substandard goods

The Director General of Standard Organisation (SON), Dr Joseph Odumodu, on Monday said that organisation destroyed substandard goods worth N10 billion in the last four years. Odumodu disclosed this during his official visit to the Headquarters of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Lagos.

He said said that the items were destroyed from 2011 to date. He urged freight forwarders to collaborate with the organisation to halt importation of substandard products. “In the next few years, we will reduce substandard products to 15 per cent. “Now, we are going through the period of change since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected based on his honesty and integrity.

“I am pleading to you all to change from all ramifications because many people are dying day by day of cancer as a result of substandard goods coming into the country. “You should all be part of the positive change by complying with the e-Product Registration and e-Provision Clearance Certificate platform,’’ Odumodu warned.

He commended the Nigeria Customs Service for supporting the organisation. Chief Boniface Aniebonam, the Founder of NAGAFF, urged freight forwarders and clearing agents to collaborate with SON to reduce substandard products. He said that seized containers should be checked and conveyed to SON base by the officials of the organisation instead of checking points.

“Enlightenment platforms and strategic processes can help in solving all the problems encountered during cargo importation as well as cargo clearance,” Aniebonam said. He stressed the need for continued campaign to remind agents on the actual time for moving out cargo from ports.

Chief Eugene Nweke, President of NAGAFF, said that trade could not be facilitated under rigid and uncoordinated process and procedures. The president of NAGAFF was represented by the National Deputy President, Mr Oluwole Adeyemi. Nweke said that there was need for harmonisation and coordination to enable his members to blend with the era of e-commerce trade facilitation.

He commended the organisation on the e-Product Registration and e-Provision Clearance Certificate platform. “We wish to advise SON management to go further by creating a forum where our national officers and other members will be given proper training and sensitisation programme. “This sensitisation will help our members in depth understanding of the scheme,” Nweke said.

Festus Ejiofor, the President of Council for Managing Director Licensed Custom Agent (CMDLCA), said the association would continue to support SON on its operations. Ejiofor said CMDLCA would comply with SON to ensure that containers were no longer stopped on the road.