SON Vows To Protect Local Coys, Consumers In Anambra
The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has promised go continue to protect indigenous manufacturers and consumers through a more robust and effective market surveillance.
Mr Olanrewaju Onikpede, Coordinator of SON in Anambra said this in an interview in Awka on Monday.
Onikpede who assumed office as coordinator in the state recently described Anambra as a big industrial hub with huge market that is strategic in Nigeria and West African sub region.
He said SON would ensure that local manufacturers regulated to confirm with world best practices and protected from the activities of counterfeit peddlers and importers of substandard protects.
“The Anambra commercial and business environment is interesting, the people are industrious and they really want to help the economy but the aspect we want them to pay more attention to is quality and conformity.
“I and members of my team are working out effective modalities for that and I be live that by gods we will be able to achieve great feat in that direction.
“My strategy is to empower the market surveys team to enable them go to manufacturer and markets and get products so they could be subjected to laboratory analysis at regular basis.
“We will be having unannounced visits to these companies to see their manufacturing processes and samples of finished to ascertain that they conform to standards.
“Normally, within the state office we carryout quarterly inspection and as we are talking, my teams are in the field on surveillance and we will try within our reach to carry out training for manpower to boost their capacity,” he said.
Onikpede said SON took protection of consumers seriously and would ensure that they got the full value of their money when they purchased any product under the organisation’s regulation.
He said beyond enforcement, SON would adopt advocacy and collaboration with market associations to ensure sanity in the market.
“We have a committee on which will be facilitating periodic interface between son and market or manufacturing associations, we are going to change the orientation so that they that they too can see the need for quality market.
“My message is that they should check out for MANCAP and SON logo which is the mark for assurance of quality, we have a consumer complaint desk here in Awka, so we encourage those who have issues to report such issues provided they have the receipt,” he said.
