Traders at Ariaria International Market, Aba, Abia State, have established a 24-man ethics and quality control taskforce to prevent the influx of fake, substandard and expired products into the market.

The Chairman, Ariaria International Market, Mr. Michael Aniorji who made this known in his office on Monday, said it was to protect customers and consumers from substandard and deceptive practices.

Aniorji said that the taskforce will incorporate officials of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, and Standard Organization of Nigeria, SON.

He promised that “if any customer returns a product he bought after discovering it is of low quality or not in good order, the seller can no longer say that he cannot replace it because the buyer has paid for it.”

“Any trader who does that would be made to pay through their nose”, he said.

The market Chairman said the taskforce will scrutinize all food items and drugs being brought into the market to ensure that the fake and expired products do not find their ways into the market .

“Those selling palm oil and vegetable oil are also part of the team to check deceitful trading practices in those areas.

“Our promise and decision was that any trader found selling fake products or who is into deceitful trading practices will forfeit his or her shop and would be eased out of the market”, he warned.

Aniorji, who also said that traders in the market have accepted the proposal to remodel the market, expressed the reservation that the traders have only seen one contractor, whom he said is yet to present papers confirming his engagement to them.

He said the contractor is yet to start work because he has not been introduced officially to the traders’ union.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has increased its premium motor spirit price.

DAILY POST correspondent who went round NNPCL retail outlets in Abuja on Monday gathered that the state-owned oil firm has jerked up the fuel pump price to N945 per litre from N895.

This was the case in NNPCL filling stations along Kubwa Expressway, Wuse Zone 6 (Berger), Zone 4, Airport Road, Lugbe, and across its locations in Abuja.

The spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, has resigned.

Soneye disclosed this in a statement made available to Ekwutosblog on Saturday.

He said he would no longer be the spokesperson for the oil giant, as he had “stepped aside from his role as Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd”.

Soneye said he wants to devote more time to his family, and attend to personal responsibilities that now require his closer presence.

NNPCL appointed Soneye as its spokesperson in August 2021.

Soneye’s full statement:

Dear Esteemed Colleagues,

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you all for the unwavering support, professionalism, and genuine commitment you’ve shown in helping to shape and amplify the NNPC Ltd story over the past 20 months. Your role in building a vibrant and effective communications presence for our national energy company has been nothing short of invaluable.

I wish to inform you that I have stepped aside from my role as Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd.

This decision will allow me to devote more time to my family and attend to personal responsibilities that now require my closer presence.

It has been a profound honour to serve both the company and our country and to contribute in my own way to the ongoing transformation of NNPC Ltd. I am deeply grateful for the trust reposed in me, the opportunities granted, and the incredible professionals both within and outside the organisation with whom I have worked.

I remain a steadfast supporter and ambassador of NNPC Ltd wherever I go. I enjoin you, dear colleagues, to continue your robust, balanced, and constructive reportage in support of the company’s noble mission and strategic role in Nigeria’s energy future.

With sincere appreciation,

Olufemi Soneye.