Ember Sales: LASG to crack down on sellers of contaminated or expired goods

The Lagos State Government has warned business owners and manufacturers of consumable products to avoid selling expired and adulterated products, particularly during the ember period and forthcoming Yuletide.

The General Manager of Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), Mr Afolabi Solebo, gave the warning during an interview in Lagos on Wednesday.

Solebo said the state government would continue to advise and educate consumers within the metropolis to be watchful of what they consumed to avoid ingesting expired and adulterated products.

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 changing the manufacture date and expiry date, which is the product information for 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.

Solebo said goods found to be adulterated would be confiscated, while the perpetrators of fake products would face the wrath of the law if found guilty.

"The position of the law is very clear: if we catch you once, you will pay a fine and you may end up spending at least six months in prison."

"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.

Solebo also tasked the media to educate one another and the public, as they were all consumers.

According to him, some people are not as educated as others.

"But what we try to do is have the consumer education in different languages – Yoruba, Pidgin, Igbo, and Hausa."

He said the agency intended to go out both in print and in other media to enlighten the people, adding that if consumers did not buy the products, the sellers would not sell them and they would end up trashing them.

According to Solebo, they expect sellers to adhere strictly to the law and avoid breaching consumer rights because if they are caught, they will face the law, hence the need for constant monitoring and enforcement.