(http://fmi.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Olusegun-Aganga-300x212.jpg) The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said that the implementation of accurate metering and measurement policy by the Weights and Measures Department of the Ministry is expected to save the country about N755bn.
The Minister said this during the official launching of the legal metrology web portal, in Abuja, on Monday, 22 April, 2013.
Aganga noted that the effective implementation of legal metrology would ensure proper inspection, verification and certification of meters and billing systems for electricity, water, hydrocarbon, and telecommunications.
He said, "The implementation will eliminate the loss of N755.72 billion due to inaccurate measurements at billing points every month by Nigerians. It is widely accepted that the status of a country's measurement system is a good indicator of its development level. The launching of this portal this morning is therefore another major step towards the actualisation of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
"The importance of Legal Metrology in developing nations cannot be over-emphasised, especially as it enhances confidence in domestic trade, protects consumers, strengthens confidence in imported goods and products, and facilitates acceptance of exported goods and products globally."
He added, "In realisation of this therefore, the Federal Government came up with the initiative to launch the implementation of the program in Nigeria in line with the provisions of the enabling laws, which are, the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, exclusive list item 65 of 1999; the Weights and Measures Act Cap W3 LFN 2004; and the Pre-shipment Inspection of Export Act Cap. P25 LFN 2004. There are other subsidiary legislations in force.
The Minister said that the newly inaugurated legal metrology web portal would result in the establishment of credible and reliable database for oil and gas exports/imports data for proper reconciliation of revenues from oil and gas as required by the Pre-shipment Inspection Act.
He said, "The increasing need for governments all over the world to employ Legal Metrology Control to regulate and monitor measurements in key sectors of the economy has made FMITI to introduce regulations 24 and 25 gazetted in 2012 to institutionalize accountability, transparency and checks and balances in economic transactions involving measurements in the Oil and Gas, Telecommunication, Electricity and Water sectors of the Nigerian economy.
"Reliable and traceable measurements can only occur in a sound national metrology system that is linked to the international metrology system as operated by the BIPM. It has therefore become imperative for all of us gathered here, and in Africa as a whole, to embrace the use of reliable and traceable measurements if we are to remain relevant in international trade matters. This is because accurate measurement is key to fair trade and all measurements should be derived from (royal) standards and controlled by an inspectorate who checks measuring instruments and controls fraud."
The minister noted that it was the need to ensure accurate metering and measurement across all the sectors of the Nigerian economy that prompted President Goodluck Jonathan to re-invigorate the Weights and Measures Department under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, to work with stakeholders to tackle the problem.
He noted that, following President Jonathan's directive, the Weights and Measures Department had been repositioned to effectively supervise and monitor weighing and measuring devices used in trade transactions in all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria