Lubricants: SON vows to deal with peddlers of fake product

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) has raised the alarm on the spread of inferior lubricants in the country today.

It warned consumers not to patronize a particular brand, “Toyota engine oil” and made the obvious revelation that their investigation has shown that the brand had no close or remote relationship with the real Toyota Vehicle manufacturing company.

According to the Director SON Inspectorate and Compliance Directorate, Engr. Obiora Manafa, while carrying out enforcement exercise in Lagos said the particular product and many other brands in the market constituted a great risk, as they are yet to undergone any offshore conformity assessment and vowed to confiscate such products.

SON therefore warned consumers not to patronize the said Toyota engine oil, they should always patronise only engine oils certified and registered with the SON, as such unregistered engine oil can cause damage to motor vehicle engines, generators and other kinds of machinery.

“It is necessary we raised this red alert for the public to know what we discovered in the market.  From our records, this ‘Toyota engine oil’ has not undergone any offshore conformity assessment process which we call SONCAP. It has not undergone the product registration process for traceability and quality verification, and is therefore substandard; we do not encourage anybody to buy it,” he said.

He stated that their regular market survey activities are carried out in 42 offices in the 36 States and FCT, stating that any engine oil that has not been subjected to tests, could cause damage to engine as it lacks necessary and required additives.

“We cannot vouch for engine oils that have not been subjected to standard tests. And when engine oils have not been subjected to tests, they are likely to lack the necessary and required additives, and cause damage to engines,” he said.

Manafa stated that efforts are underway to apprehend the importer of the lubricant who has failed the required standard for genuine engine oils which is NIS 370, reminded importers of the SON Act 14 of 2015, which its full weight would fall on them when apprehended.

Manafa Manaf 

He also stated that essential functions of a quality engine oil is to facilitate friction, prevent sludge gathering in the engine as well as reduce leakages.

“We have mobilised our enforcement team to fish out the importer of these products and definitely we will get them. We will also ensure we locate these products wherever they are stocked and confiscate them. Of course, any product we confiscate, we destroy them once they do not meet our required standard tests”, he added.

Manafa advised consumers to always look out for SON logos for locally made engine oils and SON registration numbers on imported engine oils, informing that the agency was working with market associations to ensure that the aforementioned products do not circulate in the nation’s markets.

“Our target is the warehouses where these goods are stocked so that we can evacuate them, because it is from these warehouses that they supply our markets. If we pick two to five cartons, it does not really make much impact, so as much as we are working with the market associations to confiscate the ones in the cartons, we are looking at the source of supply,” he said.

The SON director noted the harsh impact of Covid 19 on the people, adding that it was unthinkable for anybody to further unleash bad products on consumers already struggling to cope in the difficult season.

“The damage of their vehicles will be too much for them to handle and we do not want this to happen. Whether Covid 19 or not, anybody importing these products will be arrested and prosecuted in line with the provisions of the Act,” he maintained.

He also advised importers against bringing in substandard and life threatening products like electric cables, LPG cylinders, tyres and also building materials, advising them to always clear with the SON before bringing in any products.

The director called on Nigerians to always provide the SON vital information on substandard products, adding that the fight against faking is a collective battle.

“We do not disturb the activities of any importer who does the right thing, if you register your products with SON nobody will disturb you and if you cannot visit our offices, you can reach us on our website www.SON.gov.ng to get any information you need from SON,” he said.

SON Laboratory at Ogba, Lagos

“We have different departments in SON and I would like to mention the laboratory services department which has offices in different parts of the country.

“We have laboratories for food and chemicals located in Ogba and Lekki, Lagos, while textile and leather services are in Kaduna. We have an engineering laboratory in Enugu where we test mechanical materials like steel bars, civil engineering materials such as cement, concrete and the likes, and also for equipment calibration.

“The National Metrology Institute (NMI) in Enugu can do calibration and all these laboratories are open for everybody,” he advised.