Why Our Officials Pick Large Samples From Imported Containers, Never Return Them—SON

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has justified the picking of large product samples from imported containers at Nigerian ports, saying that the Act establishing the organisation permits her officials to do so.

Director of Inspection and Compliance of SON, Mr. Obiora Manafa while fielding questions from journalists at the SON warehouse in Amuwo Odofin Lagos last week lamented that SON’s absence at the Nigerian ports is dangerous for the Nigerian economy.

DAILY TREND NEWS recalls that importers have raised alarm that a large chunk of their imports are carted away by SON officials under the guise of taking samples for laboratory testing.

Manafa has however defended his officials, saying that SON Act specifies sampling sizes for every product, and that the agency works with rules and regulations as it concerns various product.

According to him, there are some product that requires large samples to be taken and tested for at least 2-years, while some test are destructive, hence the items would never be returned to the importer.

“In terms of sampling, the standards specifies sampling sizes for every product, we dont work in isolation, we work with standards, we work with rules and regulations”

“When we take samples, we send them to the lab, and some tests are destructive, some tests take a very long time, there are some samples you test for two years, like in the case of light bulbs, there is what we call endurance test, life cycle test with this, you have to keep the product under test for between six months to two years”

“Some tests are destructive, like in the case of cylinders, while testing it, we have to bust it, part of the testing busting.
It is in our mandate to take samples, it doesn’t affect anybody’s business, the ultimate thing is to protect Nigerians” he said

Mr Manafa noted that SON as an agency has been evicted from the Nigerian ports, and that this has made it difficult to apprehend fake products as they land at the terminals.

He said the agency is only invited later by the customs during container examination whenever they feel the need arises.

“We cannot lay hands on everything inside the port because we are not there, we are only invited whenever they want us to come for examination”

“We normally go for warehouse surveillance, when we get there and see goods that we suspect are substandard, we put them on hold and send samples to the lab for test, once the lab test confirms that they are fake, we come in and evacuate”

“The goods at the warehouse, sometimes you don’t know where they are coming from, some come from the ports and borders”

“SON absence in the port is not good, we have to be there to see what is coming into the country and their quality, this is to protect the lofe of Nigerians
As far as we are not there, these things can come in, we have the expertise to check what is coming in” he said