SON: We Destroyed N23bn Substandard Goods in 2018

By Jonathan Eze

The Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr. Osita Aboloma, has said N22.7 billion substandard goods were destroyed this year, adding that the agency would intensify its efforts to tighten the noose on how these types of goods find their way into the country.

At a destruction exercise held at the weekend in Lagos, Aboloma appealed to importers of fake and substandard goods to desist from wasting huge sums of money on importation of goods that have no consumer or end-user’s utility.

According to him, these goods would end up being destroyed if intercepted, pointing out that the agency would stop at nothing to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.

“We have been destroying over time and for this year alone we have about N22.7 billion worth of products where some have been destroyed while some are awaiting destruction. We have thousands of electric cables, stuffed tyres and cylinders in our warehouse waiting for further investigation and analysis,” he said.

He said SON could not be happy destroying these goods because the action brings nothing but drain on the national economy and hard-earned foreign exchange, maintaining that SON remained a business facilitator established to help genuine businesses to grow.

He said, “Please stop wasting your money importing substandard goods, we cannot afford to compromise on quality because the lives and property of Nigerians are paramount and our primary responsibility is to protect Nigerians from these goods that are injurious to families and the nation at large.”