Cable makers pledge support for standardisation

Cable makers say they are in full support of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in its efforts to rid the country of substandard products.

George Onafowokan, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Coleman Wires and Cables, who represented the president, Cable Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CAMAN), said there was no need to keep quiet about poor standards as anybody’s family could be negatively affected.

Onafowokan was reacting to remarks by Osita Aboloma, director general of SON, last Wednesday, when he took members of CAMAN to two residential buildings at Ajangbadi area, off Lagos-Badagry expressway, Lagos, where SON uncovered over N8 billion worth of Nigerian cloned cables last year.

“We have to report to SON whenever we see unwholesome practices by these purveyors. And that is the signal that SON is sending today,” The CAMAN chief said.

He stressed that SON and CAMAN had been partners in progress over the years to combat the challenges hindering cable production in Nigeria.

“It has become a scenario where people are trying to adulterate or clone our cables in order to take advantage, thereby putting people’s lives in danger. This has made us strengthen our partnership with SON, to make people actually see that the fight for made-in-Nigeria is not only a fight by us, that we should be proud of locally made cables, but also fight against what people do wrong.”

He called on Nigerians to support SON in its quest to reduce the preponderance of substandard goods in the country, describing this as the surest way to address the illicit trade.

ODINAKA ANUDU