A Lagos based importer of automobile batteries and the Chief Executive Officer of Emilinks Limited, Mr Solomon Chukwuemeka Nwadiogbu has lamented the annual loss of N150 billion to fake battery products damaging a lot of cars in Nigeria.
In a chat with Journalists at the weekend, he expressed displeasure over the colossal damage fake batteries have cost the economy over years and offered solution to the challenge saying that his company was willing to offer Nigerians batteries with five years life span with three years warranty.
“In Nigeria, battery failure is one of the top problems among car owners. Nigeria needs about five million batteries every year, this includes solar, forklift, cranes, and other heavy-duty equipment. For a country with an annual demand of 720,000 vehicles, you would agree that this is a very big issue Nigerians are struggling with.
“The use of bad batteries will affect the engines of automobile vehicles. We foresee a serious threat because of the influx of substandard batteries into the country that is a threat to the economy because many people waste their hard-earned money to buy these products at an average cost of N30,000, and going by Nigeria’s annual battery demand of five million batteries, it means we are losing a whopping N150 billion naira annually to fake automobile batteries” he noted.
Nwadiogbu, who majors in the importation of European electronics and other products said his company had imported quality batteries that could last five years with three years warranty but however regretted that some countries were making Nigeria a dumping ground.
“At Emilinks we have ‘follow-come’, same quality as the ones that come with a brand-new car. We have them in different sizes; 65 amps, 75 amps, 63 amps, 77 amps, 90 amps, 140 amps, 190 amps, and 100 amps. They are all made in Europe and have a 3 – 5 years lifespan so long as the car’s charging system is okay.”