The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says it has sensitised 400 motor spare parts traders in Enugu on the need to deal in standard products to protect the motoring public and auto mechanics.
The traders, who attended the one-day programme at the Coal Camp Spare Parts Dealers cluster, were drawn from various market associations in the state.
They included tyres, batteries, engine parts and vehicle accessories, amongst others.
Declaring the programme open on Wednesday, the Director-General of the organisation, Mallam Farouk Salim, said that there was no better time than now to sensitise importers, exporters and traders on the enormous benefits of standardisation of their products.
Salim, represented by the SON State Coordinator, Mr Francis Onyeji, said that standardisation is recognised as a powerful tool for an increase in productivity around the world.
According to him, standardisation guarantees the facilitation of trade across national and international borders, enhances global competitiveness, production of quality goods, better utilisation of resources, elimination of waste, protection of the environment and removal of trade barriers.
The director-general said that SON deemed it right to carry out the sensitisation in Enugu, as the nerve centre of the South-East.
He said that the exercise was for the purpose of creating and improving awareness of the mandates of SON and how the agency could assist businesses to grow into international brands within the state and the entire South East.
“Quite a lot has been done in the area of quality regulations and enforcement of compliance to requirements but more still needs to be done to reduce the production and circulation of substandard products through standardisation and conformity assessment activities.
“The organisation under my watch has been and will continue to sensitise importers, exporters, traders, consumers and all stakeholders on issues that can facilitate international trade and at the same time prevent Nigeria from becoming a dumping ground for substandard products from other countries.
“With the unflinching support of President Muhammadu Buhari, facilities with the aim of boosting production and marketing of quality products are being improved across the country by my organisation.
“The services represent a primus inter pares (first among equals) as well as a leading primogeniture of SON’s quality assurance and standardisation
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“By this act, SON is simply stating that it is taking the work of standardisation and quality assurance to the doorsteps of operators,” Salim said.
Contributing, the Chairman of Kano Street Spare Parts Traders Association, Chief John Omekagu, lauded SON for organising the programme which, he said, was beneficial to them.
Omekagu said that SON had carried traders along to ensure that “we understand the great benefits in maintaining truth and standards in the products we are dealing in”.
A representative of the Enugu State Tyre Dealers Association, Mr Friday Nwobodo, described the programme as impactful.
Nwobodo said that there was a need to collaborate with SON for the calibration of their various tools to ensure international standards.
“By working in partnership with SON, we will ensure that all our equipment used to determine the quality of tyres are calibrated to international standards to build more confidence in our products,” Nwobodo said.
The Chairman of Enugu State Spare Parts Dealers, Chief Christian Ngwoke, expressed regret over the menace of imported fake spare parts.
Ngwoke urged SON to start its enforcement from the wharf to block such fake products from entering the nation’s markets.
“I commend SON for the sensitisation and its large heart to partner with us as well as help us get rid of fake, sub-standard and counterfeited products anywhere it would be found even in drugs and cosmetics,” he said.
The sensitisation featured a lecture on: “The Role of Metrology in the Production and Distribution of Auto Spare Parts in Nigeria”.
Other topics were “Quality and Performance Expectations of Auto Spare Parts Merchandise in Nigeria”, and “A Talk on the National Products Registration Scheme of SON”.
