Manufacturers and dealers in the country’s automotive industry has been warned by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to desist from cloning successful vehicles brands in order to make quick gains, and depriving the trade mark owners of their benefits.
Mallam Farouk Salim, the Director- General, SON, gave the warning during a parley with the Auto Spare Parts and Machineries Dealers Association (ASPAMDA), in Lagos on Monday.
“We all must ensure that only products that comply with laid down Nigeria Industrial Standards are available for sale in this market,” he said.
He said that the the SON Act 2015 empowers the agency to arrest and prosecute offenders, stressing that it would step up its ante to make it impossible for fakers to thrive.
He noted that SON has been working in every sector to bring sanity and raise the confidence of manufacturers, importers and consumers, maintaining standards are improved and reviewed regularly to meet up with current realities.
“SON will continue to seek greater collaboration with private sector, especially the ASPAMDA, to sanitize the market, expose and prosecute those engaging in illegal activities such as relabeling and cloning of popular brands with low quality varieties,” he said.
He noted that just like other big markets across the country, ASPAMDA has become a household name, adding that the Standards body acknowledges the importance of the market and would continuously seek out ways to collaborate and carry along all the stakeholders of the very vital market in the business of standardisation.
“We need your continuous support to discharge our mandate of ensuring that only products and services that are of high standard and quality are in circulation. We need to involve all of you towards ensuring strict adherence to the requirements of applicable standards in line with international best practices,” he said.
