The Management of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says recent report blaming the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for the influx of substandard into the country attributed to its Director-General Mallam Farouk Salim is not true.
A statement signed by Director, Public Relations of SON, Adebola Fashina noted that the SON boss was misquoted.
“The attention of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria Management has been drawn to some publications misquoting the Director-General, Mallam Farouk Salim following the destruction of some substandard products at its facility in Lagos on Wednesday,” the statement said.
“The Management of SON wishes to state unequivocally that it holds the Nigerian Customs Service leadership and officers in very high esteem, and have been working in very close collaboration with the service all over the Nation to substantially reduce the importation and distribution of substandard products in Nigerian markets.
“These were publicly expressed by the Director-General, Mallam Farouk Salim recently in Lagos and Port Harcourt at interactive forums with maritime stakeholders in the two cities. The challenge of importation, smuggling, manufacture, and distribution of substandard products is hydra-headed involving some unpatriotic Nigerians and their foreign collaborators, and requires the continuous cooperation of all regulatory and security agencies, patriots, and quality vanguards.
“The Management of SON wishes to therefore correct the erroneous impression that it attributes the influx of substandard products into Nigeria to the Nigerian Customs Service. Deliberate efforts were made by SON to request the publishers of the erroneous stories to withdraw them from circulation.”
