The Department of Weights and Measures in the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment said it sealed 30 petrol and gas sales outlets in Abia for various infractions, including operating without certificate.
The officials of the department were in the state for a one-week surveillance and enforcement of compliance in the usage of accurate weights and measures in Abia.
Mr Saka Gafar, an Assistant Director in the ministry and Head of the surveillance team, said their “mission in Abia is to ensure accuracy of the equipment for stations and markets that use weights and measures.”
Gafar said that the team visited 92 petrol and gas outlets plus an abattoir during the exercise that ended on Friday.
He said that the team sealed five stations in Umuahia, the state capital, and 27 in the commercial city of Aba and its environs.
He alleged that the erring stations were operating without certificate from the agency for their weights and measures and failed to pay the statutory Federal Government’s fees.
He said that it was mandatory for prospective operators to obtain certificate for their weights and measures before opening to the public.
Gafar said: “Many petrol and gas dealers as well as butchers do not have our certificate. They are serving the public without certified weights and measures.
“Some of them are underdispensing the products to unsuspecting customers so people do not get value for their money.
“Before going into any business that uses weights and measures, they should apply to the department for us to visit and inspect their equipment to know whether they are approved for use in Nigeria.
“When we have confirmed their equipment as appropriate and accurate, then approval and certificate will be issued after they have paid the statutory fees.
“In Abia, we observed that some pay but many do not and after they were written and notified, they continued to give excuses, thus evading tax payment to the federal government.”
Gafar said that some alleged defaulters claimed to have paid but showed no evidence, adding, “Once they are able to show proof of payment, we will unseal their outlets.”
He said that the department would first invite defaulters to the office, where they would be cautioned and educated on the right thing to do.
“If they fail to come, then we prepare a memo to the Legal Department to start the process to prosecute them,” he said.
According to him, the common observation in the state included “error in measurement and the lack of certificate.”
Gafar further said that the team observed that butchers at the Waterside Abattoir, Aba, were selling meat without scale.
“Some of the customers said they prefer to negotiate price for meat rather than the use of scale, which usually have fixed amount,” he said.
The South-East Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mrs Cordelia Nwachukwu, said that her findings showed that the zone was lagging behind in the use of measures for business transactions.
“The situation is far better in the north and South-West but here, measures are not standardised.
“We want to ensure that if you are buying grains in Aba with measures, the standard will be the same in Umuahia or Ohafia,” Nwachukwu said.
She regretted that although the Abia government introduced the policy a few years ago, “it failed because government did not follow it up”.
She said that people still depended on indigenous and traditional methods, adding that the agency was desirous to ensure standardisation of measures in the area.
“It is the duty of our agency, in liaison with state governments, to enforce the Weights and Measures Act 2004 (item 65) as amended,” Nwachukwu said.
She promised her office would always carry out quarterly inspection in the five states of the zone “to create more awareness about our operations.
“We want Weight and Measures to become a household name in the zone,” she said.
The team warned that it was illegal and actionable for businesses under weights and measures to continue to operate outside the provisions of the Constitution.
