FG committed to fight against substandard products – Minister

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Richard Adebayo has reinstated the federal government’s support to the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) in curbing substandard products in the country.

The minister made the commitment during a ministerial briefing with the management of SON in his office in Abuja.

In a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Press, Ibrahim Haruna, the minister noted that ongoing efforts by SON to rid the Nigerian market of fake and substandard products require more support from the federal government.

Adebayo stated that “Nigeria with its strategic economic location in Africa, possess large investment potential that naturally opens it to the influx of various products.

“As such, the federal government would give priority to SON and other relevant agencies to check the importation of substandard products, especially in the construction industry.

“Such products have been attributed to recent cases of building collapse, particularly in the urban areas of the country,” the statement said.

It added that the minister urged the SON management to take the anti- corruption message of the current administration to its personnel while discharging their regulatory mandate.

Earlier, the Director General of SON, Osita Aboloma, had called on the minister to ensure that personnel of the organization return to the nation’s seaports as 80 per cent of goods and products entering Nigeria come in through the seaports.

He said the call became urgent in view of the recently signed African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) by the federal government.

He also requested the minister to intensify the presentation of the draft national quality policy to the Federal Executive Council for consideration and approval.

According to him, the step would serve as the necessary guide to the development and implementation of the national quality Infrastructure project of the government.

He also urged the minister to direct the agencies under his ministry to patronise the internationally accredited MSC services of the agency, which he described as one of the best in Africa.

Police trail abductors of ex-lawmaker in Enugu

The Enugu state Police Command on Tuesday said that it is on the trail of the masked men that allegedly abducted a former member of the state House of Assembly, Ude Okoye.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the abduction in Enugu, said that positive result is expected from the operation.

It was gathered that the former lawmaker was kidnapped on Monday evening at about 7 p.m while returning from his farm in Agbogugu community in Awgu Local Government Area of the state.

“We are on the trail of his abductors who allegedly kidnapped him from his farm axis in Agbogugu community,’’ Amaraizu said.

He said that those that abducted the lawmakers may have known him as they masked themselves in order to hide their identity.

The kidnapped former legislator was also a former National Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). (NAN)