By Merit Ibe
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has asked manufacturers of steel products to calibrate the equipment used in the production of steel rods and reinforcement bars or face persecution.
Its Director General, Farouk Salim, who gave the warning in Lagos, noted that it was no longer business as usual, adding that the agency was fully prepared to ensure that all equipment used in measuring various parameters are calibrated in the country.
He disclosed that SON had acquired state of the art measuring instruments to ensure compliance to the standards of equipment used in the steel, maritime, oil and gas and other industries.
“All weigh bridges, universal textile machines among others, must be calibrated to achieve equity in business, while also ensuring that products do not fall short of the requirements of the standards,” Salim said.
“This way, consumers will get value for their money; manufacturers will be happy because they are producing their products to meet the requirements of SON. This means Nigerians will be happy to use the products to build structures that will stand the test of time to stem the incidences of collapsed buildings and build the economy of this country,” he added.
Meanwhile, the agency has entered into partnership with online trading platforms to address influx of substandard goods into the country.
According to SON, the move was apt to checkmate activities of unscrupulous dealers who would want to take advantage of online platforms to make Nigeria a dumping ground for substandard goods.
The Head of Department, Consumer Complaint of SON, Mrs Mosunmola Samuel, who made this known, observed that e-commerce is sophisticated and dynamic which in turn makes it difficult to track substandard goods since most of these dealers do not have warehouses or fixed addresses.