Business

JUST IN: SON Warns Auto Dealers Against Cloning Successful Brands

Published

3 years ago

June 26, 2023

525 Views

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has warned manufacturers and dealers in the country’s automotive industry to desist from cloning successful vehicles brands in order to make quick gains, and depriving the trade mark owners of their benefits.
Mallam Farouk Salim, the Director- General, SON, gave the warning during a parley with the Auto Spare Parts and Machineries Dealers Association (ASPAMDA), in Lagos.

“We all must ensure that only products that comply with laid down Nigeria Industrial Standards are available for sale in this market,” he said.

He said that the the SON Act 2015 empowers the agency to arrest and prosecute offenders, stressing that it would step up its ante to make it impossible for fakers to thrive.

He noted that SON has been working in every sector to bring sanity and raise the confidence of manufacturers, importers and consumers, maintaining standards are improved and reviewed regularly to meet up with current realities.

“SON will continue to seek greater collaboration with private sector, especially the ASPAMDA, to sanitize the market, expose and prosecute those engaging in illegal activities such as relabeling and cloning of popular brands with low quality varieties,” he said.

He noted that just like other big markets across the country, ASPAMDA has become a household name, adding that the Standards body acknowledges the importance of the market and would continuously seek out ways to collaborate and carry along all the stakeholders of the very vital market in the business of standardisation.

” We need your continuous support to discharge our mandate of ensuring that only products and services that are of high standard and quality are in circulation. We need to involve all of you towards ensuring strict adherence to the requirements of applicable standards in line with international best practices,” he said.

Business

Naira Exchange Rates Friday, 3 July 2026

Published

43 minutes ago

July 3, 2026

OCHEFA

3 Views

BLACK MARKET RATES

US DOLLAR (USD) Buy ₦1, 397 Sell ₦1,405

GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) Buy ₦1,850 Sell: ₦1,865

EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1, 580 Sell ₦1,600

CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD) Buy ₦1,030 Sell ₦1,100

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90

UAE DIRHAM Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370

CHINESE YUAN Buy ₦180 Sell ₦200

GHANA CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110

WEST AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 380 Sell ₦2, 460

CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 220 Sell 2,300

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900

CBN OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES

US DOLLAR (USD) ₦1,370.15

GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) ₦1,832.17

EURO (EUR) ₦1,568.28

SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1,1705.44

JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8. 51

CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦201. 80

WEST AFRICAN CFA (XOF) ₦2.38

WEST AFRICAN UNIT ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1,859. 98

SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦364.91

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦84. 32

Business

Issue: Cloning Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC)

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

OCHEFA

38 Views

The Presidency says the bodies allegedly used by Adeyemi—including the so-called Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council—do not exist as government agencies.

The Presidency says a man identified as Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew allegedly created and operated fake government agencies, forged appointment letters, and falsely claimed to have been appointed by Femi Gbajabiamila.
According to the statement:
The Office of the Chief of Staff discovered the alleged scheme after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) that an unauthorized body was operating in a way that conflicted with its functions.

The Chief of Staff petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force in October 2025 to investigate alleged forged appointment letters.

The Presidency says the bodies allegedly used by Adeyemi—including the so-called Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, and Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council—do not exist as government agencies.

Investigators allege Adeyemi operated from an office in the Federal Secretariat Complex, held meetings with diplomats, and sought diplomatic support to obtain U.S. visas for members of the alleged organization.
Police reportedly recovered forged documents and other exhibits during searches of his office and residence.

The investigation allegedly found that Adeyemi operated 34 bank accounts, including several in the names of fictitious organizations, and used forged documents to open a Central Bank of Nigeria account.

The Presidency says no government funds were paid into that account.
Police charged Adeyemi and two others before the Federal High Court on multiple counts, including forgery, impersonation, and obtaining by false pretence. The case is scheduled for hearing on July 27.

The Presidency also denied claims that Gbajabiamila appointed Adeyemi, stating that appointments to federal offices are issued through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Current status

The Presidency maintains that:
the agencies in question are fictitious,
the appointment letter was forged,
Adeyemi is an impostor,
and the allegations against him should be resolved by the court.

As the case is pending before the court, the allegations remain subject to judicial determination.