The Lagos State Government has issued a warning to retailers and producers of perishable goods not to sell products that are out-of-date or tampered with, especially during the ember season and the upcoming holiday season.
In an interview with Newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos, the general manager of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), Mr. Afolabi Solebo, issued the warning.
Solebo declared that the state administration will keep advising and educating city residents to check what they ate in order to avoid consuming tainted or expired goods.
He said: “This is the ember months and businesses are closing down to December, and this is a time that people will continue to sell products that are about to expire or the ones that are even expired.
“This is the time they will start doctoring the manufacture date and expiry date that is the product information of those goods.
“So, we will continue to do public enlightenment, to enlighten the people of the state to be very careful and wary of people like that.
“As those expired products are of no good to you, what is the point of using your money to buy what will cause your death, or buying products that are hazardous to your life?” he queried.
According to Solebo, contaminated items would be seized, and anyone caught selling counterfeit goods would be subject to harsh legal penalties.
“The position of the law is very clear, if we catch you once, you will pay fine and you may end up spending at least six months imprisonment.
“If you are a second time offender, you will be made to pay fine and you get one year imprisonment without any option of fine.
“So, that is a zero tolerance for breach of consumer rights, especially consumables that is hazardous to people’s life,” he said.
As consumers, Solebo also gave the media a job to inform one another and the general public.
He asserts that some people lack the same level of education as others.
“But what we try to do is have the consumer education in different languages – Yoruba, Pidgin, Igbo, and Hausa”.
He stated that the organisation planned to inform the public through print and other media, and that it was certain that if customers did not purchase the products, retailers would not make a profit and would wind up throwing them away.
Solebo claims that they anticipate vendors to scrupulously abide by the law and refrain from violating consumers’ rights since, if they are discovered, they would be prosecuted, necessitating ongoing oversight and enforcement.
