Nigeria is not a dumping ground, FG warns importers

There will be no hiding place for foreign nationals and their collaborators who want to turn the country into a dumping ground for substandard products, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, has said.

Adebayo gave the warning at the commissioning of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Ekiti State office and laboratory at the weekend.

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He said the amended SON Act of 2015 empowers the agency to arrest, confiscate and prosecute offenders.

“SON is coming hard on violators and is prepared to work with individuals or groups to collectively improve the lives of Nigerians through standards and to make Nigeria stand tall in the comity of nations,” he said.

Adebayo said the Federal Government would build more laboratories to boost the testing of products.

He commended the SON Director-General, Mallam Farouk Salim, for the “timely completion” of the state office, and for partnering with states on the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Salim said the new office signifies SON management’s resolve to bequeath a functional substructure as part of the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) to every state.

“Few weeks after I took the mantle of leadership at SON, I was confronted with the level of infrastructural deficit which has limited the organisation’s operations.”

“I also met ongoing office building projects all around the country which had been embarked upon by the organisation to address the situation.

“Following the promise I made on assumption to improve on the infrastructure I met on ground, I decided to continue with the good work started by my predecessors despite the COVID-19 pandemic and paucity of funds, by completing SON office building projects under construction all over the country.”

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State said the new office will boost socio-economic development and increase trade and investment opportunities.

“We will not compromise standards and we are going to continue to support SON in its regulatory responsibility.”

“I want to assure the Director-General of SON that the request for the rehabilitation of the access road to the regional office will be given top attention,” he said.