The Nation Newspaper

Tag: goods

  • ‘Over 50% of imported goods is counterfeit’

    Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma has lamented the large presence of fake, counterfeit and sub-standard goods in the country. He put the figure at about 50 per cent.

    He said his agency is equipped more than ever to fight the menace especially with the implementation of SON ACT 14, 2015, which empowers the agency to prosecute any offender.

    Aboloma, who spoke to The Nation in his office in Lagos, said the agency is in the 36 States of the Federation including Abuja.

    He said they have over 41 life threatening items that are in the prohibition list with the mandate to seize them where ever they are found within 24 hours.

    While condemning the unscrupulous business men who import counterfeit goods, he explained that SON only destroys those goods as a last result when they cannot be corrected.

    Abaloma explained that if the contravention has to do with only packaging or minor correction they assist the importer or manufacturer to make the necessary adjustment.

    He said SON is determined to encourage the growth of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and National Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI) especially those who are not in the Mandatory Assessment Programme (MANCAP) yet to bring their product up to the Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS).

    According to him, a programme tailored towards their size of business is in place where they are given reasonable rates to enable them go through the process of standardization of their products while they are also granted waivers in vehicle importation to mechanise their production processes.

    Abaloma said: “SON market surveillance covers the 36 states of the federation; the idea is to grow market confidence on imported and locally manufactured goods by making them go either through the SON Mandatory Assessment Programme (SONCAP) for imported products and MANCAP for locally manufactured products.

    “We want economic development and growth through adherence to standardization because standardization means order besides production cost savings”.

  • BoI promotes made-in-Nigeria goods

    AS part of its effort to boost the creative economy, Nigeria’s developmental bank, Bank of Industry (BoI) has organised a two-day masterclass for fashion designers in Lagos and Abuja on February 8 and February 10 respectively.

    At the Lagos segment of the event which held at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, on Wednesday February 8, top fashion designers who attended the session were excited to interact with Mercedes Gonzalez, the famous international fashion strategy and brand development expert who was brought in by the bank to help sharpen the skills of Nigerian entrepreneurs operating in the various segments of the fashion value chain.

    The initiative is also a testimony of the company’s listening ears, going by demand from the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), urging the management of the bank to provide training, build capacity and guidance for budding entrepreneurs in the sector.

    President of FADAN, Mrs. Funmi Ajila-Ladipo, had made the request during the launch of a special fund for the fashion industry recently, as part of the bank’s support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    Organised in partnership with Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments, the intervention in the fledgling fashion industry is seen as remedy for the current economic recession.

    The session began with an all-inclusive exhibition of made-in-Nigeria goods, showcasing the ingenuity of Nigerians in making dresses, beads, hats, shoes and other gorgeous fashion items.

    It was exciting to several fashion enthusiasts that the session conducted by the world’s renowned Mercedes Gonzalez, from America, was free of charge.

    Speaking at the event, Acting Managing Director, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, said the project, “is to ensure that we sharpen the skills of our entrepreneurs in the textile and apparels company value chain such that they can be able to export and access international market especially the US market, while also taking advantage of our huge population.”

    Olagunju said there are a lot of people who like clothes that are made in Nigeria but are unable to meet their demand because of certain limitations.

    “So we want them to realise their potentials by bringing such an international strategist and expert and as we can see they are following the presentation and enjoying it and as a financial institution, when they pass through processes like this, they becoming substantially briefed such that when we lend to them, chances of payment are higher. And it only when we lend to them that they pay us with interest which is when my salary is paid because our customers pay our salaries. That is why they say customer is king. So it’s good to help our customers to help ourselves,” Olagunju said.

    Some of the fashion houses that showcased their wares at the event include Godwin Green couture, Bimbeads, Potter’s Signature, Little Weavers, Bolsy Aso-Oke, Grace Hats, House of Marie, Femi Handbags, Ade Bakare couture and Kijipa Africa.

    Some of the established names at the event were Lanre Da Silva, Frank Osodi, Mai Atafo, Funmi Ladipo, Nike Ogunlesi, Modela and Kiki Okewale among others.

  • N10m goods destroyed in Agodi Gate Market inferno

    An early morning fire yesterday razed some parts of Araromi Market at Agodi Gate, Ibadan, where used tyres and motor  spare parts worth over N10 million were destroyed.

    Market Chairman Abdul Azeez Ojo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the inferno began at 5.30 am.

    According to him, the Fire Service was alerted and they responded promptly.

    Ojo, however, said a sizeable number of shops stocked with tyres and other goods were razed before the arrival of the firemen at 6 am.

    “The Fire Service were able to put out the fire to avert more destruction, nevertheless, shop owners still suffered losses worth over N10 million.

    “The most pathetic thing is that these burnt shops were owned by young traders, who had just started business.

    “We appeal to the government to assist them,’’ he said.

    Two victims – Hassan Olanrewaju and Michael Ajayi-  pleaded with the government and Nigerians to assist them.

    The Fire Service team commander, Adeleke Isiaka, said his team arrived at the scene promptly, adding the response time was impressive.

    Isiaka said his team was able to put out the fire due to the cooperation received from the traders and sympathisers.

    “The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained, but it is possible that careless handling of cigarette butts may be responsible.

    “I am saying this because there was no electricity and  cooking in the market at the time of the incident,’’ Isiaka said.

    Policemen and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials were on ground to prevent looting of shops.

  • SON destroys N500m substandard goods

    SON destroys N500m substandard goods

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), at the weekend destroyed substandard goods worth N500 million at a dumpsite in Epe, Lagos.

    Director General of SON Mr. Osita Anthony Aboloma, said the coming of substandard goods into the country is an act of corruption worthy of death sentence

    He warned culprits to comply with the campaign against fake products importation or face the music.

    He said most of the goods found their way into the country through unapproved routes along the borders.

    Aboloma noted that despite the series of enlightenment campaigns organised by the SON to educate the citizenry about the harmful effects of these products, importers, especially smugglers, have continued to indulge in the illicit trade.

    According to him, the sub-standard products destroyed include, armored cables, energy saving lamp, Pampers for babies, expired extension sockets, shaving sticks and shaving blades, and mobile phones.

    “We are destroying this huge volume of goods that have created jobs for people overseas. Unfortunately, by the time we destroy these goods, we get nothing but economic loss.

    “We are not happy destroying these products, but if we can save the life of one Nigerian by doing this,, we would have done something for this country and this is exactly the core mandate of our agency by showing zero tolerance for substandard goods?,” he added.

    He said the government would continue to show commitment to its zero tolerance policy on fake and sub-standard products, including those produced in Nigeria.

    “These goods were destroyed to save the lives of Nigerians who are not aware of the harmful effect of these products. So many people have lost their loved ones by consuming these substandard products.

    “We want to use this opportunity to beg Nigerians, especially the genuine importers, to always insist on doing the right thing, by working together with the authorities, to get the ?right minimum requirements to import goods into the country.

    “We want to also commend the media for being the vanguard of our enlightenment campaigns and we will continue to fight until only goods that meet the minimum requirements are paraded in our markets.”

    Aboloma said the destruction was carried out in accordance with SON’s procedure which started with market survey, surveillance, inventory, seizure, sampling, laboratory tests and analyses to ascertain conformity to specifications and requirements of Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS).

  • 80% imported goods under declared, says Bello

    80% imported goods under declared, says Bello

    About 80 per cent of the goods imported through the ports are under-declared, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, has said.

    Bello, who spoke at an interactive session with re[porters in Lagos, said the country is losing billions of naira in revenue, adding that the only solution to under-disclosure of items, is the automation of the ports.

    He said the NSC is devoting about N1billion and its energyin automating the clearing of goods process, stressing that shipping business is key to the economic prosperity of the countyr and should not be treated as a child play.

    Bello said as the Port Regulator,  the  NSC, has  drafted positive reforms that would benefit all the players in shipping business, saying the measures are intended to make the ports attractive to others  and competitive with their counterparts  in the West African coast.

    He said: “Statistics have shown that the volume of Nigeria’s trade is about 180 million tons of sea borne cargo per annum. Annual freight generated by this trade is about $6.8 billion. More than 80 per cent of this is earned by foreign firms and the bulk of it is remitted out of this Country to the detriment of our economy.”

    He said other agencies, such as the Nigeria Ports Authority(NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NSC) and the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA), have already gone far in the automation of their operations across the  ports, adding that the automation process, if  fully implemented will attract more revenue, bring transparency and reduce congestion at the ports.

    The NSC chief said already talks are on by the Council, in conjunction with the Lagos State government and other stakeholders to strategise on ways and means to decongest the access roads to the ports.

    He said very soon there would be recapitalisation of the freight forwarders to have few but effective agents at the ports, assuring that the rickety trucks plying the routes would have no space in the ports as the Council is going to work with the truck owners to pick the best among them for operation.

    He said another way to make the ports attractive was to reduce the  terminal charges which is the highest among its pairs.

    The reforms by the council, Bello disclosed, are to  ensure the refund of container deposit within 10 working days, make sure shipping companies have operational holding bays, guarantee evacuation of empty containers from the seaport within 14 days, and  set up  service standard in line with international best practices ,as well as benchmark rates to discourage arbitrariness in charges.

     

  • NAFDAC warns supermarket operators against foreign goods

    NAFDAC warns supermarket operators against foreign goods

    The National Agency for  Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned supermarket operators to adhere to the rule on foreign goods.

    Its Acting Director-General, Mrs Yetunde Oni, at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the agency in Lagos, said it expects that foreign stocks on supermarkets’shelves would have been exhausted before  December 31.

    NAFDAC, Oni stressed, will not tolerate the violation, infraction or deviation from the approved guideline of the global listing scheme.

    The global listing rule includes: that the importation of products banned by the government shall not be allowed; ‘mandatory’ fortified food shall not be allowed, that is salt, flour except they have been fortified to the levels prescribed in the food Grade (Table or Cooking); salt regulations and the Food Fortification with Vitamin A Regulations; supermarket operators can only retail the imported items once listed and distributed within their supermarket chain only, among others.

    Oni noted that the need to accommodate the supermarket operators, fast food chains, hotels, embassies and international organisations that house peculiar and large number of products, led to the introduction of the global listing scheme in 2003.

    The NAFDAC boss listed the items on the import prohibition list not be found in the supermarkets to include: live or dead birds including frozen poultry, pork, beef, birds, eggs, refined vegetable oil (except linseed, castor and olive oils), spaghetti or noodles, fruit juices in retail packs or waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters containing added sugar or sweetening matter or flavour, soaps and detergent and cane or beet sugar.

    She enjoined supermarket operators to patronise made-in-Nigeria products as it will help create jobs and boost the economy in line with government’s change mantra.

  • Police uncover warehouse for stolen goods in Ogun

    … Arrest two Beninese owners, recover truck, others

    The Police have uncovered an illegal warehouse in Ogun state owned by two Beninese and suspected to be safe haven for goods stolen from hijacked trucks on the highways within the state and beyond.

    The illegal warehouse is at a remote Daguja Village along Sagamu – Papalanto road in Obafemi Owode Local Government area of the state.

    The owners of the warehouse, Somabe Romai, and Yahaya Konie, were arrested while an Opel Omega car with marked LAGOS KTU 125 AC and the truck were also recovered.

    Police Operatives attached to the Owode Egba Division of the Ogun State Police Command made the discovery last Wednesday while investigating a case of a truck with marked SME 410 XG.

    The truck was loaded with 2, 800 cartoons of Maggi at the time it was hijacked off Alapako (Ogun) stretch of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway but the Operatives tracked it to the illegal warehouse where many other goods suspected to have been stolen from hijacked trucks were housed.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the arrest, said the Command have made several recovery of trucks in recent times that were highjacked off the Expressway by hoodlums.

    Adejobi added that this efforts followed the directive of Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, to Divisional Police Officers and Operation Officers to go after hoodlums and stop truck hijacking on the major highways in the state.

    According to the Police Image Maker, the case of the highjacked truck would be transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad(SARS) for proper investigation and possible arrest of other members of the syndicate since it’s an organized crime.

  • National Assembly, NESREA, MAN, others collaborate on goods production designs

    National Assembly, NESREA, MAN, others collaborate on goods production designs

    The National Environmental Standards and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) is collaborating with the National Assembly and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Programme (EPR).

    EPR is designed to promote the integration of environmental costs of goods throughout their life cycles.

    It will make the manufacturers of products responsible for the entire life-cycle of the commodity, especially for their take-back recycling and final disposal.

    It also means that a producer of an article should be able to know about the life cycle of such product, how it is used and how it can be recycled. The programme process would give manufacturers responsibility to know the final stage of any given product manufactured.

    NESREA’s Director-General Mr. Lawrence Anukam, confirmed that the agency has developed guidelines for  the programme.

    Expressing appreciation to the NASS for showing a lot of political will in making sure that the EPR takes off, he said the agency was working with MAN to make sure that the EPR takes off smoothly.

    “It is a very good programme and I call on all Nigerians to support it. It is going to create wealth; it is going to make our environment cleaner, and at the same time it is going to make the industry, the manufacturer of that product to know exactly how it can create new designs that can last longer and create less problems on the environment. So, it is a win-win situation for all involved in it,” Anukam said.

    Stating that the collaboration would strengthen and enhance the implementation of the programme, the NESREA helmsman called on the private sector to play a key role in the implementation of the programme.

    “It is necessary that EPR programme comes on board and it needs to be advanced. It is part of the regulations and the law is already there. The programme is an initiative that will control waste, it is also an initiative that will generate waste and we all know that waste is wealth,’’ Anukam added.

  • 600 lives, goods worth N5tr lost to market fire, says fire service’s boss

    FROM January 2015 and March 2016, traders in some Nigerian markets lost a total of 600 lives and property valued at N5.30 trillion to market fires.

    This include N2.0 trillion worth of goods loss in the Kano fire, 3,800 market shops and 3,800 livelihood of bread winners and owners of the affected shops at the Kano fire disaster.

    Federal Fire Service (FFS) Controller General (CG) Anebi Garba gave the figures when he visited the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in Government House over the week.

    He visited the state to commiserate with the government, people and traders over a devastating fire incident at Abubakar Rimi Sabon-Gari market.

    According to a statement issued yesterday by the spokesman of FFS, Elechi Collins, the losses recorded arise from a study carried out by FFS.

    He noted absence of functional firefighting equipment, fire station, fire hydrants, water source dedicated for firefighting, illegal structures, improper housekeeping, people taking up residence in the markets and flagrant use of electronic generating sets, among others, as factors responsible for the high number of fire cases.

    He called on residents to support government efforts driven by the Minister of Interior Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) towards finding solutions to the incessant fire outbreaks in markets.

  • Senate seeks promotion of made in Nigeria goods

    The Senate yesterday asked the Federal Government to urgently initiate and implement the First Option Policy on purchase of locally manufactured products for government and its agencies..

    The lawmakers said they would amend the Procurement Act to ensure that government agencies and publickly  funded institutions  adopt the made-in-Nigeria goods First Option Policy.

    The action followed a motion by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) on the need to patronise made-in-Nigeria goods in Nigeria.”

    First Option Policy on purchase of locally made goods would compel Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to place priority on purchase of locally made products.

    Senate Abaribe, in his lead debate, expressed concern that investment in real sector had given way to trading in foreign and imported goods resulting in negative balance of trade, close down of textile companies, wood processing factories among others.

    The Abia State born lawmaker recalled that Nigeria’s economy was dependent on made in Nigeria exports, in the 60s and early 70s.

    He noted that in 60s and 70s, industries were located in the rural areas, while made-in- Nigeria products were popular in parts of the country and many other African countries.

    He said, “I recall that as at 1990, Nigeria had over 170 developed textile industries employing between 2000 and 10,000 workers each.

    “Today, only 12 are still functioning, the resultant loss of opportunities and employments is anyone’s guess.

    “The current depletion in forex earnings and forex available is a symptomatic effect of an import dependent economy, which is riddled with unemployment, negative balance of trade and low capital formation.”

    Abaribe noted that governments in other countries have developed and adopted varying measures of First Option Policy for their locally manufactured goods in their various countries.

    He listed countries like the United States, Chinese, and India, as some of the countries that made it mandatory for government agencies to source for locally manufactured goods before patronising goods from other countries.

    The lawmaker expressed optimism that if the present administration put measures in place to ensure obligatory official patronage of locally made products for all agencies of government, it would create jobs for the teeming population.

    Most Senators who contributed supported the motion and insisted that urgent action should taken by all arms of government to encourage the growth of made in Nigeria goods.

    Senator Dino Melaye in his contribution however personalized the issue.

    He said, “I want to celebrate the Made in Nigeria Senator for bringing this motion. In considering the made in Nigeria goods, we must look at enabling factors that will necessitate the made in Nigeria goods.

    “It’s beyond having one made in Nigeria attire and you have over 70 Tom Ford and Loubitins in your wardrobe.

    “We must also begin to look at our legislation, we will begin to talk about made-in-Nigeria goods.

    “We will also move in order to encourage the made in Nigeria products to talk about Made in Nigeria women.

    “Apologies to my uncle, the Governor of Edo State, we must as a people stop paying dowries in dollars and pounds.  It is time for my colleagues here to become born again.”

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, commended Abaribe for his commitment for promotion of made-in-Nigeria products over the years.