The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) recently on an inspection tour of Factories ordered the closure of two factories in Ikorodu, Lagos State.
Both factories are into the manufacturing of steel and on close examination by SON, it was discovered that the the Iron rods produced were alleged to be substandard .
This thus lead the task force team to to act, as they stormed the African Steel Mill Nigeria Limited factory and African Foundries Limited, Ikorodu, on their arrival at the steel mill TNNO learnt that they met four trucks loaded with substandard products among other empty trucks.
The President of the Iron Rod Distributors Association of Nigeria (IRDAN), Chief Gbenga Awoyale, while commending the SON Team said said that the team had actually trailed the substandard products from a distributors store at Alimosho .
Putting it in Chief Awoyale’s words, “We are elated to be informed about the sealing of the factories in Ikorodu, It reaffirms our confidence in SON to spear no efforts in sanitising the manufacturing sector and ensure Nigerians have access to only quality products”.
Chief awoyale went on to request that the defaulters and consumers of such sub-standard product should be vrought to book and be dealt with by the long hands of the law.
On the directives of SON these trucks were immediately unloaded while SON ensured the companies do a rework on the products by melting and reproducing the iron rods to the specific standards required by SON .
The Director-General/CEO of the organisation, Mr Farouk Salim, recently commended his staff over the actions taken against economic saboteurs, who he said distributed substandard steel products into Nigerian markets.
According to IRDAN, the owners of the two sealed factories being amongst the biggest steel manufacturers in the country, often times dictate the pace for the sector in Nigeria,
IRDAN therefore appealed to the DG to use his good office to dissuade detractors from this dastardly act and ensure that ‘SON Act 14 of 2015.’ be strictly adhered to thereby assuring Nigerians that no one is above the law