News Investigators/The Federal Government has vowed to crack down on manufacturers and traders using false measurements to short-change consumers.
Salim Mohammed, Director, Weights and Measures Department, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, gave the warning in Lagos on Friday.
He spoke during the agency’s national market surveillance at SPAR Supermarket, Ilupeju.
Mr Mohammed urged consumers to report suspected cases of false measurements, assuring that offenders would face appropriate sanctions.
“When measurement is right, the consumer gains, the business gains and the nation gains. Let us get it right together,” he said.
He said the department remained committed to legal metrology, which ensures that measurements used in trade are accurate, fair, safe and lawful.
He said the agency would protect consumers, promote fair competition and industrial productivity, and ensure credible measurement in domestic and international trade.
Mr Mohammed said the department would strengthen market surveillance through regular inspections of measuring instruments, goods and relevant business premises.
He gave the assurance that suspected measurement offences would be investigated and enforcement actions taken in accordance with the law.
On public sensitisation, he said that ignorance of the law would not be an excuse for non-compliance.
Mr Mohammed said that zonal and state officers of the agency would be mandated to regularly monitor companies, markets and filling stations.
He said the officers would also educate businesses on the provisions of the Weights and Measures Act.
According to him, the initiative will improve government revenue and strengthen consumer protection.
On the visit to SPAR, Mr Mohammed said the supermarket was operating within the department’s regulatory requirements.
He said the company had paid its statutory fees, adding that its weighing and measuring instruments operated within the prescribed tolerance limits.
Mr Mohammed said the department had the authority to prosecute erring companies where measurement discrepancies were considered serious.
“Our activities are in the oil and gas sector and we are in the non-oil sector.
“We are out to ensure that consumers are protected and customers receive value for their money,” he said.
He said the surveillance would extend to open markets and factories supplying products to supermarkets.
.
Mr Mohammed described SPAR’s compliance level as encouraging, adding that the discrepancy observed in one product would be communicated to its suppliers.
“Basically, we went through the supermarket and their machines are in good working condition.
“The little mistake we saw, we pointed it out and they are within the error limits,” he said.
He said the department would continue to enforce the law, adding that equipment belonging to non-compliant businesses could be sealed.
Such businesses, he said, could also be required to pay applicable fees.
He said the surveillance was aimed at protecting consumers from being short-changed in commercial transactions.
The Lagos State Zonal Coordinator of the department, Cordelia Nwachukwu, said the exercise was aimed at sensitising members of the public about the function of the department.
She said it was also to ensure that users of weighing and measuring instruments complied with the Weights and Measures Act.
“We are out on this exercise to sensitise the public about our statutory function and to make sure that users of weighing and measuring instruments used for trade comply with the Weights and Measures Act,” Mrs Nwachukwu said.
She said that one product examined at the supermarket fell short of the required measurement although the discrepancy was not significant.
Mrs Nwachukwu said that Nigerians deserved value for their money and should not be cheated through inaccurate measurements.
“If you say this is 20kg, your 20kg must be your 20kg,” she said.
She said the department would conduct more surveillance in the first quarter of 2027.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mama Bride brand of rice, which was marked 5kg at at SPAR, weighed 4.84kg during measurement by the department, while Big Bull brand of rice, which was also marked 5kg, weighed 5.2kg.
NAN
