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MAN charges FG to be vigilant over AfCFTA

Babajide Okeowo

Worried by the expected influx of substandard products into the country as a result of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) signed recently by African countries, the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has advised the Federal Government to be vigilant and recall the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to the ports.

President of MAN, Mansur Ahmed said the recall of SON to the ports would curb illegal transactions that could make Nigeria a dumping ground.

Worried by the impact of unscrupulous dealers and substandard goods in the country, Ahmed hoped that a meeting between the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria and the Standard Organization of Nigeria would solve any issues bordering on goods and services in the country.

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Ahmed asked the Federal Government to engage in more capacity building enterprises for SON to be able to cope with the challenges at the ports. He noted that with the signing of the agreement, there would be renewed challenges with goods verification.

“I believe this creates a new demand for SON and other regulators to scale up their activities to prevent dumping. By doing this, we are not protecting the interest of only the Nigerian manufacturers but African manufacturers at large.

“It requires even greater cooperation with stakeholders such as MAN. I believe this is what the agency is working on now and we will certainly support any effort in this regard. I think returning SON to the ports is something we should look at” he added. This is not the first time Ahmed is calling for a review of the AfCFTA agreement.

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