16 August 2013, Abuja – The federal government has directed all industries using weight and measurement instruments for both domestic and international trade within the country to get such equipment registered for verification purposes or risk sanction.
The verification is in line with section 7 of the weights and measures Act 2004.
Chief Executive Officer of Nigerco Nigeria limited, consultant for the federal government, Yabagi Sanni, at an interaction with journalists Thursday in Abuja, said refusal to register measuring instruments would attract appropriate sanctions under the law.
Yabagi, who said the registration and verification exercise would ensure accurate records of crude oil export from the country, added that it was important to ensure that all metering equipment are working in accordance with the manufacturers specifications.
“Legal meteorology is not just about domestic trade, it is also about international trade, especially Nigeria that the economy is based largely on a product that is drifting in terms of accuracy of instruments used in dispensing and transacting the business, which is crude oil and gas.
“It becomes very important as a nation that we give due consideration to having adequate records of the measuring systems that are in place, their status at every point in time, so that we can begin to have proper records of what we sell in terms of the natural endowment that God has given us for the running of our economy,” he said.
According to him, the Federal Executive Council had directed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to enforce the verification exercise with effect from August 14 in order to enable Nigerians benefit from legal meteorology and accuracy.
“It is an effort by the federal government to ensure that we are also counted as one of those countries that observe standards in trade transactions, please note that refusal to register all weighing and measuring instruments used for trade in Nigeria is in violation of the weights and measures Act and shall attract appropriate sanctions under the law,” he said.
Yabagi noted that legal meteorology was essential for economic development as “it provides confidence in domestic trade, protects the consumers, provides confidence in imported goods and products and also facilitates acceptance of exported goods and products.
“Government, as provided by the law, has come up with a directive to all users of weighing and measuring equipment in Nigeria to with immediate effect have them registered with the weight and measures department via the portal which was launched in April by the Minister of Trade and Investment, or with the offices of weight and measures.
– Adebiyi Adedapo, This Day