Agency to tackle cartels producing substandard goods

The acting Director-General of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) Dr. Paul Angya, has threatened to go after cartels producing substandard good in Nigeria.

Speaking at an honorary event organised for him by the Benue Journalists Forum of Nigeria (BJFN) in Lagos, Angya promised to live up to the mandate of the agency, promising to adopt measures that will curb the menace of said cartels.

Angya was being honored by the BJFN with an Excellence and Dedication to Service Award in recognition of his efforts to reshape the agency since he took over six months ago.

“They (cartels) try to compromise public officers through blackmails and threats,” he said.

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“I have received such threats already. But we are prepared to fight back this time and stave off intimidation until we dislodge them," Angya said, according to a report on The Nation Online.

The SON DG also said that the agency was working on computerised codes which will require that all imported household products go through compulsory checks by 2017.

“We have mapped out our strategies to ensure that any unit of product, imported or locally produced, must be properly checked and sealed with a computerised code. Any unit that doesn’t carry a code is fake. Buyers will be able to verify through SMS to know if the unit has been checked or not. That’s the only way we will fight them, purely by being tactical as we strive to live up to our mandate, and not allowing any compromise,” he said.

He also stated that the agency, under his watch, will ensure that Chinese authorities sign agreements to check the standard of every product imported from China.