Only one certified packaged water firm in Akwa Ibom, others are fake – SON

Only one out of the large number of packaged water producing companies operating in Akwa Ibom State has the NIS certification, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria said.
Besides, SON said that 11 tissue paper and eight paint producing companies had no certification in the state.
The state Coordinator of SON, Papanye Don-Pedro, said this on Monday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, during a one-day sensitisation seminar for tissue paper and paint manufacturers in the state.
According to Don-Pedro, the affected companies produce sub-standard products as far as they have no Nigerian Industrial Standard certification issued by SON.
The coordinator said that only two paint companies and one tissue paper producer had the NIS certification in the state.
Don-Pedro spoke on: “Tissue Paper and Paint: The Importance of Quality”.
He said there had been a lot of abnormal practices among the manufacturers of paint and tissue papers in the state.
The coordinator enumerated unwholesome practices perpetrated by the manufacturers to include non-perforation of tissue papers and use of low grammage paper with particles.
He said: “The other anomalies are: producing in residential houses; improper storage of chemicals and raw materials; improper labelling of chemicals containers; and the use of old paint containers for storing new paints.
“Others are unavailability of laboratory facilities for basic tests during productions; inadequate markings on paint containers and improper waste management.”
Don-Pedro added that the seminar was organised to enable the producers to abide by standards.
He said that SON was determined to ensure that only products approved and certified were allowed into the Nigerian market.
Narrating his experience, one of the manufacturers, John Edem, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the producers had several challenges in the course of production.
Edem alleged that the banks were unwilling to grant loans and that the state government had no incentive for the manufacturers.
He also complained of high and multiple taxation as some of the challenges that hampered quality production.