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Tag: SON

  • SON launches operation ‘destroy killer-tyres’

    SON launches operation ‘destroy killer-tyres’

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has embarked on a nationwide exercise of destroying  fake and expired tyres. The move, according to the organisation, is to safeguard lives and property.

    Its Director-General, Osita Aboloma, said through its Operation Gbale (meaning operation sweep), the days of fake and expired tyres, which cause deaths and economic losses, were over.

    The standards body noted that  recent statistics issued by the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) showed that the rate of accidents caused by substandard tyres had reduced.

    Aboloma, who was represented by SON Director of Inspectorate and Compliance Bede Obayi, at the destruction of some fake and expired tyres in Lagos, said: “We are going round the nation to pick all the expired tyres from every corner of the nation and make sure that they are properly destroyed. This is why we have brought you here today to kick off what we call the operation “gbale”. We have volumes of tyres across all our state offices in this country, which we have mopped up as a result of our enforcement exercises.”

    According to him, the agency has conducted series of nationwide campaigns on the negative effect of substandard tyres, urging consumers to check for DOT numbers before buying tyres.

    “We are going to be mopping up the country to make sure that Nigerians are protected from these people selling fake and expired tyres. We have acquired rugged machines that can destroy these tyres and condemn them. The present administration of the agency has made its promise to Nigerians that it is going to get value from our operations,” he assured.

    Aboloma continued:“SON has been at the vanguard of fighting the menace of fake and substandard tyres coming into the country and we have seen cases of DOT erased to deceive Nigerians. We have been carrying out sensitisation campaigns against the use of these substandard tyres because these fairly used tyres have been thrown to the trash overseas and due to harsh weather, the tyres are dead on arrival when they arrive our shores.”

    He said  SON would continue to collaborate with other enforcement agencies to rid the country of substandard goods, pointing out that how to destroy the tyres was a challenge. He reaffirmed that the agency had acquired machines to destroy the products without causing environmental hazards.

    “We didn’t want to throw the tyres into the sea because they will not melt and can cause aquatic problems and when they are burnt, it will cause environmental problems for Nigerians. So, SON got hi-tech machines to destroy the tyres beyond repair so that they do not find their way into the markets,” he said.

    He said the destroyed substandard tyres were worth billions of naira, urging importers to get the approved SONCAP certification, while also advising them to desist from stacking tyres into one another in a bid to save cost. “The storage of a tyre determines its life span, when you continue stocking these tyres into each other, you are only reducing the strength of these tyres, which makes them dead on arrival,” Aboloma said.

  • Why buildings collapse, by SON, Lafarge, others

    Why buildings collapse, by SON, Lafarge, others

    Building construction experts from Lafarge Africa Plc, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and others in the housing industry have said the engagement of non-professionals and artisans in the construction of buildings is responsible for building collapse.

    They spoke in Abuja at a stakeholders’ forum organised by SON for the Northcentral Zone.

    The Technical Services Manager of Lafarge Africa Plc, Bukola Adebisi, an engineer, said the quacks lack ed the training and expertise to execute building projects without supervision.

    This reason, he explained, was why the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)  partnered some stakeholders, including his firm, to produce a concrete mix manual that will serve as a guide in the production of concrete. The  manual is the first of its kind in the industry.

    SON’s Head of Product Authentication Usman Mohammed, who  represented the director-general, said the use of sub-standard building materials was another major factor responsible for building collapse.

    He called on stakeholders in the  sector to eradicate sub-standard products.

    To ensure that only building engineers work on construction projects, COREN has an Engineering Regulation and Monitoring Unit, which monitors construction project, its Registrar, Kamila Maliki, said.

    He added that the five engineers involved in 27 buildings collapses  between 2016 and last year had been sanctioned by the body.

  • SON to crack down on fake products producers

    SON to crack down on fake products producers

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has promised hard times for   manufacturers and importers of fake and substandard products.

    The agency hoped to tackle the menace with the introduction of Product

    Authentication Mark (PAM) on all products manufactured in the country and those due for importation.

    SON’s Director General, Mr. Osita Aboloma, spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at a training workshop on: The Fundamentals of International Standards Organisation (ISO) 9001-2015 for stakeholders in the Southwest.

    Aboloma, who was represented by Southwest’s Regional Coordinator of the agency, Mrs. Oyenike Owoyele, said no efforts would be spared at sanitising Nigerian markets.

    The SON chief warned that anyone caught would be made to regret his or her action through seizures, destruction or outright closure and blacklisting of the erring manufacturing company.

    SON’s Head of Ekiti State Office, Mr. Ayeni Feyisayo, reiterated the commitment of the agency to rid the Nigerian markets of undesirable products.

  • Why we launched operation to destroy fake tyres — SON

    Why we launched operation to destroy fake tyres — SON

    The ongoing operation destroy fake and expired tyres across the country by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is aimed at safeguarding lives and property of Nigerians, said the organisation yesterday.

    The Director-General (DG), SON, Osita Aboloma, said such tyres have caused Nigeria enormous losses and it was time to put an end to the trend.

    Aboloma who was represented by the Director, Inspectorate and Compliance, SON, Bede Obayi, at the destruction of some fake and expired tyres in Lagos, said the operation was already yielding the desired result as recent statistics issued by the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC), showed that  the rate of accidents caused by substandard tyres has reduced.

    He said: “We are going to be mopping up the country to make sure that Nigerians are protected from people selling fake and expired tyres.

    “We have acquired rugged machines that can destroy the tyres. The present administration of the agency has made a promise to Nigerians that they are going to get value from our operations.”

    He stated that SON would continue to collaborate with other enforcement agencies to rid the country of substandard goods.

  • SON to adopt ISO 37001:2016 to fight corruption

    The Standards Organi-sation of Nigeria (SON) will boost the Federal Government’s fight against corruption by adopting the ISO 37001:2016 standard, its Director-General, Osita Anthony Aboloma, has said.

    He spoke during the project’s committee meeting on the adoption of ISO 37001:2016 in Abuja.

    He said it is a tool to support the government’s fight against corruption.

    He said: “Today you will be making significant contribution to the current administration’s fight against corruption as you adopt this standard.

    “As posited by the international standard, bribery is a widespread phenomenon that raises serious social, moral, economic and political concerns. It undermines good governance, hinders development and distorts competition.”

    Aboloma said corruption erodes justice, undermines human rights, adding that it increases the cost of doing business, introduces uncertainty into commercial transactions, increases the cost of goods and services and as well diminishes the quality of products and services.

    He said these could lead to loss of lives and properties, destruction of trust in institutions and interference with the fair and efficient operations of markets.

    As you may be aware, fighting corruption in the country seems insurmountable, this standard alongside the Nigerian industrial standard on good governance NIS 902:2017 can therefore be proactive tools to reduce the incident, he said

    Aboloma said the SON will push for the promotion and use of this standard by government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as business entities as tool to fight and work towards the eradication of corruption in the system.

  • SON urges motorists to avoid substandard tyres

    THE Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr Osita Aboloma, has cautioned motorists to desist from buying substandard tyres to prolong their life and enhance public health.

    Addressing a sensitisation workshop in Enugu, the SON chief noted that substandard tyres could also undermine legitimate tyre business and adversely affect national economy.

    Represented by the agency’s Regional Coordinator for the Southeast, Obi David, the SON chief added that the agency was concerned and had placed tyres under life endangering items in the course of pursuing its mandate.

    Aboloma said: “The use of tyres extend to all walks of life with no boundary and touches on most of our daily activities. Be you a student, market trader or in any profession you can think of, it is important and necessary that everybody and all stakeholders be aware of substandard tyre products.”

    He said from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) statistics, “between 2011 and 2015 alone, no fewer than 5,288 road crashes across the country were as a result of substandard or expired tyres”.

    The SON chief added: “Therefore, SON has stepped up its fight against this menace with sensitisation programmes like this, compliance monitoring and strict enforcement.”

    On intercepted substandard tyres on the road last year, Aboloma said: “SON intercepted one of the culprits’ trucks on the highway and tracked it. You can see the extent of danger that these people are posing to our people and our economy just because they want to make huge profits at the expense of the lives of Nigerians.

  • Fed Govt backs SON on introduction of PAM

    Fed Govt backs SON on introduction of PAM

    The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, has thrown its full weight behind the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s (SON) plan to introduce Product Authentication Mark (PAM) this year.

    Confirming this during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by SON in Lagos to introduce PAM to members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar described the move by the agency as germane to actualising the federal government’s diversification efforts towards increasing patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods and services as captured in the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP), Executive Orders 001 and 003.

    Abubakar explained that other countries have adopted such measures to protect their domestic market, stressing that the planned introduction of PAM was part of the measures being adopted by SON to guarantee the quality of products on sale in the Nigerian market.

    “We shall continue to provide the necessary support needed for parastatals under our supervision to ensure their effective delivery of their mandate to Nigerians in furtherance of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan,” she said.

    She commended SON and National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) for organising the stakeholders’ sensitisation forum, which she said serves as an avenue to receive feedback from critical stakeholders towards the smooth take off of the PAM.

    “We believe that the PAM would complement the existing Nigerian quality mark (NIS), Nigeria Quality Award (NQA), MANCAP and SONCAP in ensuring that consumers are protected from the menace of substandard, cloned and counterfeited products,” she said.

    Earlier, the Director General, SON, OsitaAboloma, added that PAM is an added quality assurance mark in furtherance of its role in creating an enabling environment for diversification of the economy and SON’s attempt to ensure necessary control on the goods consumed by Nigerians.

    He stated that the major challenge hindering the sale of goods in Nigeria is the issue of cloning and faking of successful products.

    In his words, “We had to think outside the box to tackle this menace headlong. Cloning has exposed the lives of Nigerians to serious health and commercial trauma. It has also discouraged a lot people from investing in Nigeria. We had to bring the PAM to harmonise the existing products we have. It is also an attempt to accelerate technological innovations in effective service delivery so that our MANCAP and SONCAP can be codified and made simpler for the consumers to identify the genuineness of a product before purchase.”

    In her own speech, the national president, NACCIMA, IyalodeAlaba Lawson, said standards give manufacturers a competitive edge for their products while to consumersit gives confidence on the quality of the products consumed.

    She said NACCIMA anticipated that the introduction of PAM would enhance the authenticity of locally manufactured goods, promote export and effectively curtail the influx of substandard products into the Nigerian market.

    According to her, the PAM initiative is also another step in supporting the rising interest in healthy living through ensuring that consumables meet acceptable local and international quality standards thereby stamping counterfeit products from the Nigerian markets.

    “It will also go a long way in increasing the competitiveness of locally manufactured products and increase the confidence they exhume locally and internationally,” she stated.

    “The forum is evidence of SON’s intent to increase engagement with the private sector especially in establishing quality standards in all aspects of global and local businesses,” she added.

    She stated further that the stakeholders’ forum also provided an opportunity for manufacturers, suppliers, exporters and importers to convey their views on different issues concerning standards while commending SON for such initiative.

    She also stated that standards are very essential to boosting the productivity and performance of a country’s domestic and international trade.

     

  • SON, NAFDAC partner on service delivery

    • Reps score SON high on lab centre

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Directors-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma and his National Agency for Food, Drug  Administration and Control (NAFDAC) counterpart, Professor Moji Adeyeye, have affirmed the commitment of the two organisations to the welfare and health of Nigerians through improved collaboration.

    In a statement by SON, the affirmation was made during a courtesy visit by the NAFDAC DG and some members of her Management to the SON in Abuja.

    Aboloma said the two sister regulatory agencies have the collective responsibility of working for the overall interest of the nation and its people.

    “The enabling Acts of the two agencies as well others have clearly delineated their functions, the areas of perceived overlap should be taken as opportunities for collaboration and cooperation rather than competition.

    “The use of the Harmonised Systems (HS) Codes for examination of goods at the nation’s entry points was in line with international best practices and aimed at reducing conflicts to the barest minimum

    “I’m  advocating the expansion of the seamless collaboration between the two agencies in standards development activities at technical committees, standards compliance and enforcement,”he said.

    Meanwhile, House of Representative Committee on Industry have scored the  SON high on effective implementation of budgetary provisions for their laboratory complex at Ogba, Ikeja.

    The Committee Chairman, Abubakar Moriki, who led an eight-man delegate of Patrick Aisowieren; Micky Kazzim; Sam Onuigbo; Ahmad Kalambaina; Mohammed Ibrahim; Baderinwa Bamidele and Yusuf Buba, praised  Aboloma for attaining 95 per cent completion of the project.

    He said the inspection was necessary to ascertain the depth of implementation of 2017 budget in preparation for the passing of the 2018 appropriation bill.

    The Chairman who commended the spate of construction and equipping, said the observation of the laboratory complex will forge the basis for the provision of facilities to  jump start operations.

    Touring the four-storey building, which include refrigerator testing chamber,  food microbiology and  food data processing unit, among others, Moriki said full operation should begin by March.

    He said: “Towards the tail end of 2016, we were here and the project was at an appreciable level of completion though the equipments were not installed and positioned in their respective offices. Now in 2018 and in the process of considering the appropriation for the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), it is necessary to come and visit the facility and see other places where they are conducting  their operations.”

    He urged the DG to ensure strategic distribution of the testing equipment across regional laboratories to avoid concentration in a locale.

    “We should be looking forward to seeing  many of these testing equipment separated all over, not necessarily concentrated in one location. It is a service you provide to many of the cement companies,” he said.

    longer be a challenge as a laboratory for chemical test analysis would be operational to certify strength of compression, thereby limiting the risks of building collapses.

    The noted that new departments  would be spread among the new phases of regional laboratories coming up  in the North East, South East, and South West.

    He said: “We have been looking forward to this visit because you are our major advisers. We are open minded and open for change. We are open to anything that would add value to the work we do. This laboratory has been accredited to ensure that anything certified in Nigeria will be acceptable all over the world. We are also expanding this facility to accommodate more laboratories, because the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which Nigeria is a member requires that all goods that leave Nigeria must be tested and certified and to achieve that we must a state-of-the-art laboratories to achieve this. Our Ogba laboratory is where we store goods we seize during our enforcement activities waiting for ratification or destruction.”

    Speaking on partnerships with necessary stakeholders, Aboloma said: “Other regulatory agencies are collaborating with in a sustainable manner. The collaborations he revealed is in terms of funding researches, equipment, capacity building, and human capital development.”

     

  • Traditional ruler, son, charged with murder of EFCC ‘informant’

    A traditional ruler, Nojimu Abioye, and his son, Wahab, were yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja High Court, for the alleged murder of Alhaji Olatunji Rasak in 2015.

    Rasak was said to be an informant for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The duo were charged with  conspiracy to commit murder and murder.

    They pleaded not guilty.

    The prosecutor, Mr M.T Adewoye, told the court that the Baale of Temidire and his son committed the offence at 10.a.m on July 20, 2015 at the Temidire Area of Alagbado, Lagos.

    “The defendants alongside others who are now at large, murdered Rasak by shooting him with a gun and cutting him with a machete and dangerous weapons,” Adewoye said.

    According to the prosecution, the offences contravene Sections 221 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011.

    Counsel to the defendants, Mr Adebayo Lawanson, requested that the accused be allowed to maintain the bail granted them during their prior arraignments at the Magistrates’ Court.

    “The accused ever since they were granted bail by the magistrates’ court had never jumped bail,” Lawanson said.

    Justice Hakeem Oshodi, upheld their bail request and.adjourned the case till March 19.

  • SON, manufacturers collaborate on product authentication

    SON, manufacturers collaborate on product authentication

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has partnered the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to introduce SON’s Product Authentication Mark (PAM) to the market.

    PAM is a mark of quality fixed on  finished products to demonstrate their conformity to approved standards. It is issued as a sticker with security features and QR code, which can be scanned by a smart phone.

    It is applied on each product to ensure traceability and tracking of imported and local products.

    According to the SON’s Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma, PAM will reduce product’s counterfeiting, which had become a clog in the wheel of manufacturers.

    He added that it was one of the Federal Government’s initiatives targeted at improving the business environment.

    The SON DG, who spoke at the SON Stakeholders’ Forum on PAM in Lagos, said the agency’s new PAM would raise the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products and boost the country’s economic diversification drive from oil to non-oil sector.

    “We started it because counterfeiting is an age-long menace that has burdened us, leading to the influx of substandard goods in Nigeria. It also makes it difficult for local manufacturers to be competitive,” the DG said.

    He added that it was the agency’s opportunity to deploy technology and authenticate products shipped into the Nigerian market.

    However, certain items, such as food products, drugs, and machi-neries of manufacturers, among others, are exempted from PAM, which will take effect on February 1, 2018.

    To SON’s Acting Director, Product Certification, PAM is important as it would enable manufacturers to sell their products and easily trace them.

    He said the agency’s initiative would reduce the cost of changing logos while ensuring that consumers buy products that give them value for their money.

    “I know of some companies that change their logos every quarter. With PAM, the companies should be able to reduce that cost and put the money elsewhere,” Orngudwem said.

    He stated that the N3 cost per stamp could be negotiated and that the initiative would be a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

    On his part, the Director General/Chief Executive of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr. Babatunde Irukera, said his agency supported the PAM as it would protect consumers from buying counterfeits and cloned products.

    He said people were dying as result of substandard products , adding that the new initiative of SON would help reduce that.

    “I believe that the Federal Government should declare a state of emergency on counterfeiting,” Irukera said.

    MAN President Dr. Frank Jacobs commended SON for the initiative. Underlining some of the benefits manufacturers would derive from it, he said: “We are aware that this mark will further improve patronage of made-in-Nigeria products and clearly identify original products.”

    He added that it would further safeguard the health of consumers, provide unambiguous means of authentication and heavily reduce grey trade activities such as smuggling and counterfeiting.

    Jacobs, however, said manufacturers were worried and  concerned about the cost implication of the PAM initiative on manufactured products, prices, patent, logistics, packaging lines, sales, and employment.

    The forum was aimed at  ensuring that SON and MAN sought ways on how the new initiative would impact positively on manufacturers without causing burden on the real sector.