According to the Standard Organization of Nigeria, it destroyed 10 million subpar tires in just six months.
At a one-day sensitization workshop with tire dealers at the Africa Tyre Village, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, the Director General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, made this revelation in a release.
Salim stated that there were 40 million worn tires in the nation while speaking at the awareness-raising event titled “Vehicle tyres, quality and management for effectiveness via standardization.”
In an effort to guarantee safety on Nigerian roads, the agency has also trained over 800 tyre importers and vulcanizes on how to recognize high-quality tires, he continued.
Salim remarked that the action was clear evidence of its zero tolerance for subpar products. Salim was represented at the ceremony by the Director of Compliance, SON, Suleiman Issa.
“SON has remained absolutely committed in regulating the product. Nigeria had an estimated 40 million used tyres across the country where the standards body has successfully removed about 10 million within six months.”
He also emphasized the agency’s dedication to using quality assurance to better people’s lives.
Salim said the government had received a ton of complaints about the prevalence of subpar tires across the nation, so the importance of raising awareness cannot be overstated.
All hands must be on deck, according to the SON leader, to stop the importation of subpar goods.
He emphasized that in order to combat the epidemic of false and inferior products, SON was developing its partnerships with sister organizations.
All used tires, according to Salim, are prohibited since they are subject to confiscation and destruction in the nation.
“All secondhand tyres are not allowed as they are automatically qualified for seizures and destruction and whenever we see them, we will do just that. This sensitization programme will be repeated everywhere nationwide.”
“We have nine departments spread nationwide for better coverage. We have more than 40 State offices nationwide directed to conduct the same sensitization to reduce fatality on our roads.
“Our records show that seized expired or bad tyres constituted almost the biggest howl in the agency’s warehouses where confiscated products are subjected to laboratory tests and analyses before public destruction of them as fake and substandard products. We have confiscated and destroyed fake tyres worth billions within recent years,” he said.
Issa Akanbi, president of the Association of Nigeria Tyre Marketers, had already pledged to continue working with SON to improve road safety in Nigeria.
He asserts that the only part of a vehicle that might endanger the lives of passengers is a set of tires.
“This is the reason we see tyres as life here, giving it our possible best to maintain the right standard and quality allowed into our market,” he said.
According to Akanbi, every other vehicle component that fails will just cause the vehicle to come to a stop and delay the passengers’ travel.
