SON, BBA Reach Understanding Over Substandard Products

The campaign against substandard products  on Thursday got a boast following a meeting between the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Balogun Business Association, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos.

At the meeting which held at the SON office in Lekki Lagos, both bodies agreed to strengthen their relationship in the bid to stamp out substandard products from the market.

SON Director-General, Mr Osita Aboloma who first addressed the meeting ,highlighted the negative effect of substandard products to the economy and health of the nation, saying the need for collaborative effort could be overstretched.

He recalled the long standing relationship between the two parties, resulting in the holding of quality awareness programmes as well as the donation of market desk for the SON within the complex.

“It is important to emphasise the need for self-regulation among your members through proper monitoring and evaluation of their merchandise to boost the quality assurance and acceptability of your products locally and in the international market space. It is very important but disheartening however to note the avalanche of products in your market which do not meet quality specifications and are not easily traceable to their sources:,

According to the DG, traceability of substandard products to the market had an overall negative impact on employment generation plans of the present administration, local manufacturing and the growth of the economy in general.

“I wish to therefore ask for greater synergy and smooth working relationship with the leadership and members fo the various sectors of Balogun market a reference market in Africa on matters of quality and international best practices in merchandise. We as Nigeria’s standards bearers and regulator of quality can achieve more if we get valid information on the perpetrators of shady practices in your market”.

The chairman of the group, Sir Okey Ezeibe, in his response, thanked the management of the SON for the reception, pledging on behalf of the group to work according to the guidelines agreed at the meeting.

He said the truth was that some of them actually have franchises which are readily harmed by substandard products and that any effort to tame the latter was in their overral interest.

He descriebd substandard products as a cancer worm that required concerted efforts to tame, adding that that was the reason they came for the meeting,

Ezeibe said the market itself had put in place some internal mechanisms for self-rgulation but that such internal efforts would mean more with the SON continued collaboration.

He said for a start, the market would expect a form of handbook from the SON detailing the basic dos and don’ts as a precaution for manufacture or import of products for the Nigerian market.

This, if backed with regular oversight visitations from the SON would help the two parties in achieving their resolve.