The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo, has said the memorandum on the sale of tubers and other agricultural products by way of verified scales will soon be implemented nationwide.
This, the minister said, was to ensure that buyers of agricultural commodities derive the maximum value for their money and sellers get the correct amount for their products. He said the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment, had its last meeting held at Ado-Ekiti in November 2021, approved the measures, which would be implemented after the conclusion of the required processes.
The minister disclosed this during the commemoration of 2022 World Metrology Day, themed: “Metrology in the Digital Era,” over the weekend. He said metrology or the science of measurement had contributed immensely to the economic and social development of society. He said, “In the economic space, accurate measurement ensures accountability in the determination of the quantity of mineral resources produced in the country; ensures that the quantity of goods and products purchased by consumers are accurate and just; ensures consumers protection and safety in the aviation sector and ensures that the amount of active ingredients in medicines are accurately determined for the safety of lives and well-being of users.”
Adebayo, therefore, stressed need for accurate measurement in aviation, trade, health, oil and gas production, power, transportation, water, banking, telecommunication, food processing among others had become inevitable if the country must move forward. He noted that the adoption of the theme for this year’s World Metrology Day could not have been more appropriate considering the digital revolution experienced in the past two decades.
According to him, digital technology has affected positively the way business is conducted.
However, Director, Weights and Measures Department, Mr. Hassan Ejibunu, said, “We want the whole world to know about legal metrology because legal metrology has not been known in Nigeria and we have been in existence since 1962.”
He said the decision to take the markets was to ensure that henceforth people are not cheated in the process of buying and selling.He said, “If you go to the market you will see that people are being short-changed. If you go to a meat seller and you put it on the scale, by the time you get home and you put it on your own scale, you will see the difference.”
