The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is creating awareness on legal metrology in Kano State preparatory to the gradual reopening of businesses in post-COVID-19 era.
Alhaji Abubakar Dangaladima, the Director, Weight and Measures Department of the ministry, made this known at a one-day sensitisation workshop on Thursday in Kano.
The workshop with the theme: “Impacts of the Weights and Measures Regulatory Operations in Post-COVID-19 Nigeria and how to restore confidence in trade”, was designed to create awareness on measurement regulations.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that metrology is the study of science of measurement in to instil confidence of parties in business transactions.
Dangaladima, represented by Salim Mohammed, the Head of Surveillance, Standard and Metrological Data (SSMD), said that weights and measures regulations were critical to trade and sustainable economic development.
He said that no market could function without a common unit of measurement, noting that the department “is primarily to protect the interest of the consumer by making sure that measurement equipment used in transactions operates within the limits of the law.’’
“The exercise is paramount because it will be spreadsheet upon which stakeholders of the Weights and Measurements Department (WMD) will respond to the Federal Government’s strategic initiatives for economic recovery to sustain the economy against further nose diving into recession.
“It is the outcome of the deliberations from this kind of engagement that will power up all components of the economy to concretise the foundation so far erected for economic recovery by the government.
“Regulations and standards are necessary documents to give legal background to every action and procedures,” he said.
According to him, the department is a key regulator of business environment in the country as it affects weighing and measurements.
Mr Auwal Uba, the Northwest Zonal Coordinator of the department, said the exercise was aimed at educating the business operators in the region on the importance of legal metrology.
Uba said the ministry was assisting the department through its regulatory rules to encourage use of standard Weights and Measures in trade and business transactions in the country.
He said that the ministry had organised similar exercises at Lagos, Calabar and Niger State, adding the exercise had boosted confidence of the business communities.
“I hope at the end of it; we will be better informed on the impact of the weights and measures regulatory operations in post COVID-19 to restore confidence in trade,” he said.
According to him, the ministry will organise virtual sentisation conference on legal metrology to enhance participation in the exercise.
One of the participants, Umma Aliyu lauded the ministry for organising the workshop, adding that it would go a long way to enhancing understanding of legal metrology in the state.
Aliyu, a representative of the Nigerian Bottling Company, said industries in the state had benefitted from activities of the WMD, which facilitated growth of their businesses.
“It is a wonderful development and we are happy partnering with the department for better prospects of our businesses.
“Our customers’ satisfaction is key to ensure that they are satisfied to promote market. The department has been supporting us to achieve that,” she added.
NAN reports that the workshop was attended by manufacturing firms, processors, trade unions and associations drawn from various sectors of the economy.
Edited By: Grace Yussuf (NAN)
