Our Reporter 

The Federal Government will deal decisively with foreign nationals and their Nigerian collaborators who turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for substandard products, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, has said.

Speaking at the commissioning of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Ekiti State office and laboratory, he said the amended SON Act of 2015 empowers the agency to arrest, confiscate and prosecute offenders.

“SON is coming hard on violators and is prepared to work with individuals or groups to collectively improve the lives of Nigerians through standards and to make Nigeria stand tall in the comity of nations,” he said.

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Adebayo hailed the SON Director-General, Mallam Farouk Salim, for the timely completion of the state office, and for partnering with states on the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

Salim said the new office signifies SON management’s resolve to bequeathing a functional substructure as part of the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) to every state.

He said: “Following the promise I made on assumption to improve on the infrastructure I met on ground, I decided to continue with the good work started by my predecessors despite the COVID-19 pandemic and paucity of funds, by completing SON office building projects under construction all over the country.”