Oluyinka Onigbinde
Clearing agents operating at Lagos ports have called for a reversal of executive decision which banned the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) from the ports.
Speaking on Thursday during a maritime stakeholders’ sensitization forum with the theme “Standards Save Lives Grow Economy”
Vice President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Dr. Kayode Farinto noted that if the country must win the war against importation of sub-standard goods, there is need to return SON to the seaports.
Farinto, while delivering on “Juxtaposing Substandard Imports SON’s Absence At Seaport”, informed that SON has vacated the seaports a few years ago, with the intention of the government to allow the agencyto perform the role of regulation outside the ports.
He however said that the increase in the importation of sub-standard goods and the effort of some non-conformist has showed that there is need to reverse the executive decision if the nation must win the war against importation of sub-standard goods into the country.
The ANLCA vice president noted that if the trend is not arrested urgently, then it may affect the economy and impact the nation’s income negatively. He stressed that the absence of SON in the ports encourages importation and smuggling of sub-standard products.
On his part, the President of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Chief Tochukwu Ezisi who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Rev. Emma Agunbaze urged SON to engage stakeholders more. He noted that engaging with stakeholders is key to improving accountability within the organization as well as external audiences.
He further said stakeholders’ engagement will further ensure proper consideration of interests while commending SON for embracing the ease of doing business in the country. a
Earlier, the Director General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim lamented that in Nigeria, no one is tracking importer of substandard goods.
Salim noted that the essence of the sensitization with stakeholders is to communicate and share views on how to make businesses more efficient.
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He attributed the high rate of insecurity in the country to the importation of substandard goods.
He added that importation of substandard goods could destroy the economy of any country.
According to him, the essence of the sensitisation with stakeholders is to communicate and share views on how to make businesses more efficient.
He also noted that it was unfortunate that no one was tracking importers of substandard goods.
“Stakeholders should engage in bringing in genuine quality products into the country. As substandard goods continue to come into the country, the local manufacturers and industries will be destroyed.
“In other climes, when you buy a product and sell it to the public and someone is injured or they don’t get satisfaction to the product, you will be sued and then money is lost or sometimes jail.
“In Nigeria, we have it develop to that level. We have the laws but we have not develop to the level where some gets punished,” he said.
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