SON seizes N100m cooking gas cylinders

Timothy Adewuyi

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria has
impounded six container loads of
substandard Liquefied Petroleum Gas
products in Lagos.
The Director, Inspectorate and Compliance
Directorate of SON, Bede Obayi, an engineer,
said this while addressing newsmen on the
activities of the organisation on Thursday.
Obayi, who said the seized cooking gas
cylinders were imported by Amaze Company
from China, added that the interception of
the consignment was achieved by SON with
the collaboration of the men of the Nigeria
Customs Service.
While conducting newsmen round the
impounded consignment at the SON
warehouse in Ogba, he said the gas
cylinders were in 12.5kg and 6kg sizes.
Obayi alleged that preliminary observation
had shown that the company had unlawfully
used SON logo on the brands without the
agency’s approval.
“The importer falsified documents and
cheated to bring in the products without due
process,” he said
He said SON would take a stringent action
against the company to serve as a deterrent
to unscrupulous importers.
According to Obayi, SON has been
sensitising Nigerians to substandard
products generally and LPGs particularly on
account of the critical nature, and the
implication of substandard products on the
economy.
“Safety is critical in cylinder manufacture
and handling. These are products that
starting from the cylinders to valves,
burners, clips, regulators and hoses are
critical in the chain. If any of these
components is not properly processed, you
will have a problem. Cracks in the pipes
could mean leakages; if the regulator is not
the right one, and it doesn’t regulate the gas,
it will continue to flow and it could become a
big problem,” he said, adding that it called
for more caution on the side of all
manufacturers and importers.
He reassured Nigerians of the readiness of
the agency to continue to safeguard lives
and property.
Obayi also disclosed that the confiscated
LPG products were picked from the Tin Can
Ports adding further testing, investigation
and due diligence would be done to ensure
that consumers got value for their money.