In its effort to promote and ensure consumer protection, the federal government, on Friday, embarked on weights and measures surveillance in Ogun.

The surveillance is being carried out by the weights and measures department, federal ministry of industry, trade and investment.

Olajide Bamidele, the director, weights and measures in the ministry, led a surveillance visit to some companies in Sagamu as part of an ongoing nationwide inspection to ensure compliance with regulations.

They visited Apple and Pears company, Honeywell Flour Mills Ltd. and Nestlé’s production facility in Sagamu.

Mr Bamidele explained that the surveillance visit was aimed at promoting fairness in trade and consumer protection by ensuring that companies adhere to standardised measurements.

He emphasised the significance of such inspections, which he said were held annually and sometimes on a random basis.

He stated that it was important to ensure companies complied with weight and measure regulations, which remained crucial for fair trade and consumer confidence.

“We are here on surveillance of weight and measure, which is an annual event.

“Sometimes, we come here randomly to check the standard, regulation compliance, and fairness of trade transactions in Nigeria.

“We have already conducted inspections in Abuja and Lagos, and now we are in Ogun state,” he said.

He reiterated the importance of training staff handling equipment and said that the ministry was ready to facilitate the necessary training sessions.

Mr Bamidele reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to fair trade practices and urged all the companies to continue maintaining high standards in their operations.

The director emphasised the ministry’s commitment to enforce compliance across industries.

“We will sanction companies who fail to comply with our directives. If we find any equipment wanting, we seal the equipment.

“Once your company is sealed, we will give you a rejection certificate. By the time you do the needful and we verify it and it is okay, we give you a certificate of verification,” he said.

Johnson Ada, chief operating officer of Apple and Pears company, expressed appreciation for the ministry’s visit, noting that weights and measures remain vital to the company’s operations.

(NAN)