Below is an excerpt of a story on the Guardian claiming Nigerians spent N1tr on fake and substandard goods. I don’t know how these guys come up with this figures but you’d agree with me it is alarming if found true. Thats over 20% of the budget of the Federal Government and about 3% of GDP. See excerpts the story below
“NIGERIANS spent over N1 trillion on the importation of fake and sub-standard products last year, the Director-General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Joseph Odumodu has said.?Odumodu disclosed this Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.?He listed the imported items to include electrical accessories, switches, batteries, used refrigerators and air conditioners and other environment degrading materials and junks.?Odumodu said the agency seized and evacuated about 20 trucks of fake energy saving bulbs, substandard iron rods and fake tyres.?He expressed concern at the rate at which fake tyres are imported into the country, and said that most importers of second hand tyres “do not usually buy them but are paid to help dispose them off by foreign countries”.
