Absence of SON from Ports Endangers Nigerians, Warns Stakeholders

Lagos, Nigeria: entrance to the RoRo port - Nigerian Ports Authority - photo by A.Bartel

Eromosele Abiodun

Some stakeholders in the maritime industry have thrown their weights behind recent calls by the Senate Committee on Industries that Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) should return to the ports, saying their absence was endangering the lives of Nigerians and the economy.

A leading freight forwarder and founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Boniface Aniebonam advocated for SON’s return, saying all agencies of government relevant to import and export can operate in the ports together without hindering the free flow of legitimate trade.

Also, an importer and licenced customs agent, Chief Edwin Chike, also viewed attempts at stopping SON from operating inside the port under any guise as a violation of the law establishing the organisation.

Chike who referred to the SON enabling Act said, any executive order or instruction as to which agency should operate inside the ports should take extant laws into consideration. He said.

He said lives of unsuspecting users and consumers of foreign products were being endangered by fake and substandard products either imported or smuggled into the country as many of such products have discovered to be deficient in the SON Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) requirement

According to him, “Section 29 (3) of SON Act states that the Organisation may order the destruction of goods detained under subsection (1) of this section if the following conditions are satisfied-(a) testing indicates that the goods did not meet the relevant Nigeria Industrial standard; and (b) it is reasonably necessary to destroy the goods because the goods are in a dangerous state or injurious to the health of human beings, animals or plants;(c) in an order under subsection (2) of this section, the Organisation may require the owner of the goods to pay the costs of the destruction of the goods including the costs of transporting and storing the goods, before destruction.

“Section 30 (1) states thus ( 1) For the purpose of carrying out the function of the Organisation under the Act, the Director General , other officer or employee of the Organisation or any other person authorised by him in writing (a) may stop and search any vehicle which he reasonably believes may contain any article or product or material or goods that is in contravention of this Act; (b) shall have a right of access at reasonable times to any premises including all Nigerian ports, airports and land borders where industrial or commercial undertakings is being carried on, and may use reasonable force if need be, to gain entry. Any other from the executive asking that the organisation stay away from the ports is a flagrant violation of the law, “he said

On his part, a Lagos based legal practitioner, Enumah Nduka, advised that any order seeking that SON vacates the ports without approaching the National Assembly be reversed.

He added that it may be necessary to expunge or amend the sections of the SON Act which empowers it to be in the port. He described the order as an illegality, no matter who issued it and therefore should be reversed in the interest of the economy and citizens safety