The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has expressed it's readiness to partner with the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in eradicating substandard goods from Nigerian society.
Director General of SON, Dr. Osita Aboloma stated this yesterday at a meeting with the NAGAFF high command led by its founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam on a courtesy visit to the SON DG.
Mr. Aboloma said a joint committee comprising of NAGAFF and SON officials would be established immediately to address numerous challenges encountered by the freight forwarders in the course of cargo clearance at the port.
He solicited support of NAGAFF, saying that Nigeria cannot achieve economic prosperity without sanity in standard and safety in what the people consume. He lamented that substandard goods flooding Nigerian society is a menace that if not checked quickly could consume the people.
"We mush work to grow Nigeria out of recession without compromising standards, we cannot fight substandard goods without your collaboration, I would beg you to please assist us fight the menace, it is a menace that is about to consume us as a nation
"There is nobody that has not suffered the menace of substandard goods, it touches every facets of our life; tyres, bulbs, break pads and so on. It is now a moral burden on every Nigerian. If you see something, please say something" he said
The SON DG equally assured the NAGAFF team that SONCAP is undergoing modernisation to fine-tune it to be in tandem with modern day realities.
He expressed readiness to work with NAGAFF alongside Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on e-registration and the modification of SONCAP.
"From what I have heard about NAGAFF, they are our able partners and we thank you for the relationship you have maintained with SON, I want to beg you to still extend that hand of fellowship so that we can jointly serve Nigeria better within my tenure"
"The fact is that we are undergoing a period of recession and the government is redirecting it's energy, it is no longer business as usual, government is now fighting hard to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in Nigeria"
"In doing that they also need to prevent unfair dumping of goods into Nigeria, this does not depend only on SON but also on our fellow go-keepers, collaborators in business of importation, and there is no other one than NAGAFF who have been living up to its name"
"The setting up of a joint committee is something we must work on for them to correct some anomalies and faction a way forward. I don't want this courtesy visit to end here, I want you to do us a letter with names and terms of reference for the committee" he said
Speak earlier, Acting President of NAGAFF, Mr. Increase Uche recalled that NAGAFF has been a strategic partner with SON especially on SONCAP and expressed readiness to express same to the present management.
He however lamented some challenges confronting operators at the port which according to him includes SON officials randomly arresting Terminal Delivery Order (TDO) of both compliant and non compliant cargoes.
Increase also said that some SON officers compromise on escort arrangement for cargoes leaving the port. He lamented the overlapping of functions between SON and other agencies including the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAGAFF)
Also addressing pressmen at the end of the meeting, Founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam commended the SON DG for his drive in ensuring compliance to standards.
He assured that the committee would kick start00 it's work by next week.
Discussion about this post