SON declares war on fake brands
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has promised to go tough on cloned brand promoters saying such product denied original manufacturers of their right and endangers users of fake products.
Director-General, SON, Mallam Farouk Salim said that the agency is bready to discourage the registration of any product that has similar business name with an existing brand or those hidden under the names of any successful brands to short-change unsuspecting consumers.
This, he said when the Alaba International Amalgamated Traders Association paid courtesy visit to SON office in Lagos.
“The issue of cloning brands cannot be handled alone by SON, but going forward, we are going to audit the products we register and certify. Anytime a new product comes and looks similar to another registered product that is already popular in the market, we will try to discourage the registration of that product with such a name, so that other product would be identified properly. This will increase traceability of products not yet in circulation,” he said.
In a bid to fight the ungodly act, Salim announced plans to increase its level of engagement with stakeholders across the country saying that the move by the agency would help protect the interest of the business community while also safeguarding lives and property.
He emphasised his commitments to work very closely with stakeholders to sensitize the business community on the need to ensure safety and standards, warning that unscrupulous individuals would be prosecuted.
“We are here to work with them and to make their job easy while also to protect their interest because they are Nigerians employing people and they are doing what needs to be done. We are looking forward to cooperating with them to ensure that every other individual in their association not doing the right thing is encouraged to doing the right thing in the future.
“We are inviting stakeholders and the plan is to work together with stakeholders to sensitise and train them on the safety of life and property.
“As for those still breaking the laws, we will enforce our law either by a court or through appropriate regulatory.”
The SON boss said the agency would reach out to the community through sensitization programmes to highlight the negative impacts of substandard goods on the business community.
“They have promised to work with us and those people who are not doing the right thing would be fished out. The task is for us to continue cooperation, continue openness, and to be fair with each other. We want you to be our eyes on the market. Help us make our work easy because we are out here to make you competitive. Let us work together to make this happen as we would be reaching to everyone in the market.”
The Executive Chairman, Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria (EDAN), Fabian Ezeorjika, explained that there is an already existing partnership with SON to achieve a substandard-free market.
And therefore reaffirmed the association’s commitment to working in one accord with SON to fish out the bad eggs in the market, adding that the association had already formed a Joint Task Force including SON officials and currently running a “buyer beware campaign” in the market.
Ezeorjika said that SON has destroyed a lot of fake products, promising that the association will increase the level of collaboration with the agency to bring an end to substandard goods and products in the country.
He urged SON to encourage locally made products owners, saying that this is the surest way to create wealth and job opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths.
“We need to create conducive environment for local production. Importation only creates job opportunities for people we import from. We must create a platform to boost local production,” he said.
Cloned brands and fake products have always been a serious challenge to the country.
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