THE Federal Government has reiterated plans to deploy a nationwide market surveillance drive against false measurements, targeting markets, filling stations, supermarkets and other points of trade.
News Point Nigeria reports that Dr Salim Mohammed, Director of the Weights and Measures Department (WMD) of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja.
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Mohammed said the department would collaborate with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the National Metrology Institute of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (NMI-SON) to implement the initiative.
“No buyer should be cheated, and no seller should be cheated. Accurate measurement is the baseline of trust and confidence in trade,” he said.
Mohammed noted that the campaign, themed “Full Measure, Fair Trade,” was coming at a time of economic hardship in the country.
“In a period of economic hardship, every short litre and every short kilogram is a direct tax on the poorest households,” he said.
According to him, the planned operations would include announced verification exercises, unannounced spot checks, mystery-shopper test purchases and joint enforcement activities.
“Results will be published, with repeat offenders named.
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“The drive will cover petroleum, open markets, supermarkets, pharmaceuticals, aviation, agriculture and export terminals,” he said.
Mohammed reminded traders that only metric units were legally recognised for commercial transactions.
According to him, local measures such as mudu, derica and kongo, which are indigenous measurement units, are not legal units unless the department approves their mode of production.
The director also commended Dangote Cement Plc, where 58 technical personnel were undergoing training at the Ibese Plant in Ogun State towards weighbridge competency certification.
“Staff were exposed to the basic ecosystem of measurement (metrology). The cost-benefit of this training is unimaginable.
“It is a strategic plan for blocking revenue leakages in an organisation.
“Compliance is not a cost imposed by government but a commitment to fairness with customers, hauliers and the public,” he said.
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He added that the department would engage state governments, market associations and the organised private sector to ensure that awareness campaigns preceded enforcement.
Across the country, the Weights and Measures Department operates 38 state offices and an office in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), seven zonal offices, as well as its headquarters in Abuja.
