SON: Freight Forwarders, Traders Demand Scrapping of SONCAP
By DAPO OLAWUNI
Freight Forwarders operating at Nigerian ports have called for scrapping of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) saying that the programme is no longer in tune with modern trade realities.
Former President of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Dr. Eugene Nweke made the call at a joint press conference of freight forwarders, shippers and traders held in Apapa Lagos on Monday.
Dr Nweke urged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to come up with acceptable Nigerian standards for goods manufacturing and communicate same to the world.
He said this would ensure that any cargo that does not meet the standard requirement is returned back to country of origin, right from the port.
“The SON should bring up Nigerian standard and communicate it to every nation, there should be no compromising. Or else the cargoes should be taken back to its origin”
“The SONCAP programme has not met the realities of the moment as we speak, it engages the 3rd party to give Product Certificate (PC) without which you cannot generate SONCAP”
He lamented that Nigerian importers and traders are being exploited abroad because of the SONCAP.
“The SONCAP should be jettisoned, what we have now is no longer tenable, it is anti-trade and a betrayal”
Dr. Nweke also alleged that the ICT portal created by SON has also been compromised and cannot be trusted.
“We request the SON to jettison the SONCAP and come up with something that is acceptable, Nigerian standard should be Nigerian standard and ISO, they should stop pushing traders to the wall, they should make traders compete amongst themselves”
The SONCAP is a product conformity scheme whose objective is to help ensure that products exported to Nigeria meet minimum safety requirements. This will help ensure that Nigerian consumers are not exposed to potentially unsafe and sub-standard goods.
SON established a global network of country offices in all the major trading partners of Nigeria. All activities related to SONCAP must be performed in the country of export by the exporter through the country office with geographical responsibility for that country of export closest to the Exporter
