Importers of fake and subpar tires have been cautioned by the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to stop their behavior to risk being labeled as “public enemies.”
The warning was delivered on Tuesday during a one-day sensitization event in Lagos by the Director-General of SON, Malam Farouk Salim.
Salim, who was represented by the organization’s Director of Compliance, Mr. Suleiman Issa, said that Nigeria could not continue to import death through shady dealings by people who were only interested in their financial gain and had no regard for the safety of the ultimate users of the products.
The majority of Nigeria’s defective tires, according to an analysis by the standards organization, are imported, and this development, he claimed, has continued to deal a fatal blow to the country’s economy.
Salim said that while implementing procedures to ensure the quality of “lawfully” imported tires, the SON will step up efforts to educate Nigerians about the consequences of misusing these items.
To maintain road safety in Nigeria, he advised all business owners to always act morally by purchasing and selling only high-quality, approved motor vehicle tires.
Alhaji Issa Akanbi, president of the Association of Nigeria Tyre Marketers, committed on behalf of his organization’s members that they would keep up their cooperation with SON in the fight against subpar tires and related goods.
Tires, according to Akanbi, are a vehicle component that, if and when taken for granted, endangers the lives of passengers.
He assured them that such an instance would not be tolerated and issued a warning that such dealers could no longer conduct business as normal.