By Lucy Ogalue
The Federal Government is intensifying efforts to ensure Nigerians get fair value for their money through accurate quantity measurements in goods and services.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Nura Rimi, said this on Wednesday in Abuja.
Rimi, represented by Mr Dafang Sule, the Director of Federal Produce Inspectorate Service, said this when he led officials from the Weights and Measures Department of the Ministry on an inspection tour of some facilities within the city center.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the facilities visited are the NNPC mega station and NNPC by Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Zone 1, Conoil, Gransquare, and the Arab Contractors site in Abuja.
Rimi said the essence of the visit was to ensure the facilities maintained strict compliance with approved standards of measurement, for consumer protection and revenue generation for the government.
He expressed the commitment of the present administration through its Renewed Hope Agenda, to protect the interest of consumers and the general public.
“With all of these activities, the consumer has the right to receive what he pays for.
” At the same time, it is a strong base for revenue generation because the service is paid for, and the government derives enormous returns from it,” he said.
Also speaking, the Director of Weights and Measures, Mr Bamidele Olajide, said the surveillance was part of the department’s annual nationwide compliance exercise.
” This is our annual surveillance. We do it once in a year. And what we do specifically is to ensure that we do our function, we carry out our responsibility.
“Our aim is to protect consumers from being shortchanged. If a buyer pays for 20 litres of fuel, they must get exactly 20 litres. The same applies to food and industrial commodities.
” We also enforce compliance of the entities with government regulation such that the quantity of what you are giving to the public is accurate and specific,” Olajide said.
According to him, most of the premises visited so far have shown substantial compliance to the required standards.
On the issue of standards in the oil and gas sector, Olajide confirmed that efforts were ongoing to strengthen the department’s role under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
He said this was being done with the support of the National Assembly and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation has directed that Weights and Measures return to the oil and gas sector to ensure that what is lifted corresponds to what is declared at the ministry,” he said.
Similarly, Mr Muktar Salim, Deputy Director, Surveillance, said that the department operated an open complaint system through its website and call centres.
Salim encouraged consumers to report suspected cheating or inaccuracy in weighing or dispensing to the departments closest office for necessary actions.
“We want to ensure that a person paying for 50 tonnes gets exactly 50 tonnes. That is the core of consumer protection,” Salim said.
At the Arab Contractors site in Wuye, the project manager, Mr Gamal Abdelrahman, commended the surveillance team for their professionalism.
Abdelrahman confirmed that their weighing bridge had passed the test, though the operator’s certificate was due for renewal.
Similarly, the Manager of the NNPC Filling Station along Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Zone 1, Mr Isah Iyaji, also applauded the initiative and offered technical advice to CNG vehicle users.
He advised motorists using CNG converted vehicles to ensure not to kick their vehicles with CNG except after driving for about 20 to 30 minutes.
” If you use a petrol for like 20 to 30 minutes, then you go back to CNG. That is the only time you can get the compress, the required pressure for it to drive, for your car not to be affected,” he said.
Officials also visited the butchery section and rice stalls at Grand Square Supermarket and Stores located in the Central Business District in Abuja, where items were weighed to ensure compliance with standard measures.
The ministry promised to continue to train operators of weighing equipment and enforce sanctions on defaulters as part of ongoing efforts to protect consumers and uphold trade standards across Nigeria.
NAN
