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SON seeks partnership with freight forwarders on substandard goods

By Moses Ebosele
02 December 2015   |   12:52 am
THE Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Joseph Odumodu has implored freight forwarders to collaborate with SON as part of measures to prevent the importation of substandard products into the country.
Director-General, SON, Dr Joseph Odumodu

Director-General, SON, Dr Joseph Odumodu

THE Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Joseph Odumodu has implored freight forwarders to collaborate with SON as part of measures to prevent the importation of substandard products into the country.

Speaking during a courtesy visit to the National Headquarters of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Lagos, Odumodu said  about N10billion  worth of substandard goods have been seized and destroyed by the organization in the last four years.

He said SON would continue to impound substandard goods from truck drivers, importers and clearing agents, adding that people should  learned to do the right thing.

He said: “Since my assumption of office in 2011, SON has destroyed about N10billion worth of substandard goods. These things are being brought into the country by unscrupulous people who want others to consume such products.
“So, if people continue to do the wrong thing, then SON will continue to stop containers on the roads. We will not fold our arms simply because SON officials have been removed from the ports.”
Odumodu said SON in partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)  planned to reduce the importation of substandard products by 15 per cent.
He pleaded with the freight forwarders to collaborate with SON to prevent the importation of substandard products which are endangering the lives of Nigerians.
Odumodu said, “I am even more confident with our recent collaboration with the NCS that we will be able to reduce the importation of substandard goods. We need to make sure that our ports and borders are properly policed.

People will be forced to do the right thing if they are not ready to do it willingly.”

National President of NAGAFF, Eugene Nweke who was represented by his deputy,  Oluwole  Adeyemi, appealed  on SON to resolve contentious issues bothering on overlapping functions between SON and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

He said: “We are glad to have your presence and listening ear to understand our operational difficulties, which can only be addressed through sensitization, dialogue and dissemination of information.”
He added: “In this era of e-commerce, trade facilitation is the watch word but trade cannot be facilitated under a rigid and uncoordinated process, hence the need for simplification and coordination of activities.”

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