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Worried by the large scale faking and existence of substandard electrical and electronic
appliances at the Alaba International Market, Lagos, the Consumer Protection Council
(CPC) is to set up a joint task force of its workers and members of the Alaba International
Market Association to stamp out the menace.
This is coming on the heels of a meeting held by the Council’s Director General,
Mrs. Ify Umenyi, with members of the Alaba International Market Association, to
discuss incidences of faking of electrical and electronic appliances and its negative
impact on Nigerian consumers.
Based on an earlier complaint from a major producer and distributor of electrical
and electronics equipment in Nigeria, that its brand was being counterfeited and
sold by some Alaba market traders, the Council’s officers had previously embarked
on a surveillance operation that revealed the extent of sharp practices in the market.
Therefore, at the meeting with the traders, the Council’s Director General, Mrs.
Ify Umenyi, questioned the rationale behind the traders’ engagement in the unethical
and unwholesome practice of counterfeiting existing brands when most of them can
produce and promote their own genuine brands profitably, urging them in the process
to desist from such practice in order not to run foul of the law.
Stressing that CPC frowns at such illicit acts because they are not only deceitful
and detrimental to the nation’s economy and image, but capable of shortchanging
consumers, Mrs. Umenyi assured that her Council would leave no stone unturned in
ensuring that Nigerian consumers get value for money for all products and services
that they consume.
The executive Chairman of the Alaba International Market Traders Association, Chief
Emeka Dike, who also expressed worries at the unwholesome practice of some members
of his association, promised to collaborate with the Council in ensuring that the
Alaba International market is rid of all counterfeit and substandard electrical
and electronics products.
As a result, CPC and the executive of the Alaba International Market Traders Association
resolved to set up a 25 man joint committee that will embark on the immediate confiscation
of all the fake and substandard electrical and electronics products, and routinely
ensure that only products that meet the required standards and specifications are
allowed in the market.
It was also agreed that erring traders would be handed over to the Council for prosecution
and other relevant sanctions.
The Alaba International Market, situated at the Ojo area of Lagos, is easily the
single biggest market for electrical and electronics appliances in Nigeria.
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