Weights and Measures Department of Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has weighed down heavily on Coca-Cola Bottling Company for evading payment of legal remittances for upward of six years coming to 3.3 Million Naira. The Company was also liable for penalty for obstructing the officials of Weights and Measures from carrying out their legal duties of inspecting the weighing instruments in the Idu Abuja Industrial premises of the Bottling Company on Tuesday, 6th March, 2018.
The Acting Director of Weights and Measures, Engineer Muhammed Sada Sidi leading Officials and a team of Inspectors from Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on surveillance of Companies in the Oil and Gas sectors as well as Non-Oil and Gas sectors in Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, 6th March, 2018 surveyed Dangote Cement Company, to inspect its weights and measures facility; Julius Berger Company premises at Idu Industrial Area, Abuja, also to inspect its weighing facility – the Company’s weigh bridge.
The Weights and Measures surveillance team also inspected Coca-Cola Bottling Company at Idu Industrial Area, Abuja, to be sure that its facilities are weighing and measuring accurately, so as not to have Nigerians short-changed in terms of the measurement and weights they are paying for.
At Dangote Cement Depot, Idu Industrial Estate, there were discoveries of some under-weighing and over-weighing of some sampled Cement bags which was explained by Mrs. Halimat Ibrahim, the Inventory Officer at the Depot. She said, when still wet, the cement bags could over-weigh and when dry could under-weigh.
At Julius Berger, the weigh bridge of the Company which was tested and found to be weighing accurately given the allowable margin of error was commended.
The Acting Director of Weights and Measures, Engineer Muhammed Sada Sidi and his team also made an unscheduled visit to some open shops selling Made in Nigeria Rice and some imported rice at A.U.A. Shopping Plaza, Central Business District, Abuja, close to the Abuja Metro Station, where it was discovered that the Made in Nigeria Rice bagging was accurate, whilst the imported rice bags were not.
When prodded that the sellers of the re-bagged foreign rice were retailers and could be justified pleading the excuse that the re-bagging was not done by them, but from point of purchase, Engineer Sidi said that the retailers of re-bagged rice will give a clue to their sources of supply and the Weights and Measures Department will go after those ones to explain, until it will unearth the real culprits behind re-bagging of rice to short change Nigerians, which he said is a rampant practice now.
While he was briefing journalists at the end of the surveillance, Engineer Sidi, the Director, Weights and Measures disclosed that his officers are everywhere in the sectors of the Nigerian economy and that the staff strength have been beefed up recently by close to 300 new graduate recruits.
The Weights and Measures Director said the objective of Tuesday, 6th March, 2018 surveillance exercise, is to create the awareness in Nigerians that unlike the Department of Petroleum Resources which inspect for adulteration in the Oil and Gas product sector, the Department of Weights and Measures of Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment looks for accuracy in the quantity dispensed or sold to Nigerians.
He added that the surveillance was also to create awareness in Nigerians that Weights and Measures is not all about Oil and Gas but as well for Non-Oil and Gas as the inspection team surveyed rice, soft drinks which are in the Food and Beverage Sector as well as Cement, to ensure that the quantity dispensed or packaged does not short-change buyers or customers of these products.
Engineer Sidi added that Weights and Measures Department works round the clock and round the year but need publicity to create the awareness in Nigerians that should the quantity of goods sold to them fall short, they have an institution to take their case to, for redress.
Signed,
Olujimi Oyetomi
Head, Press Unit
Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment
