The National Assembly has been urged to reconsider the measure that would make inferior steel and other goods illegal in Nigeria by the Iron Rod and Steel Distributors Employers Association of Nigeria.

The group also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make history by taking a personal interest in the issue to prove that he genuinely cares about Nigerians’ safety and welfare.

In response to the recent building collapse in an Abuja construction site that claimed at least 40 lives, IRSDEAN National President Gbenga Awoyale made this statement available to journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday. He also criticised the Federal Government, led by former President Buhari, for not approving a bill that would have made substandard products illegal in Nigeria, a move he claimed has resulted in multiple building collapses and fatalities in Nigeria to date.

In the statement, Awoyale pointed out that the ongoing production of goods that endanger the lives of Nigerians on a daily basis is caused by the absence of severe criminal penalties for manufacturers of inferior steel and other goods.

Additionally, he stated in the statement that “many Nigerians are losing their lives as a result of the administration of former President Buhari’s careless approach to addressing subpar production on the front end.”

Therefore, he called on the current government to act decisively against inferior steel and other construction materials for the sake of Nigerians.

We have witnessed building owners trapped in building collapses, so they or their family might also become victims’, he said.

“The legal framework within which the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is working will remain grossly effective and continue to be abused for personal gains,” he added during the statement.highlighting the fact that “anyone caught in the act of substandard production should be subject to criminal prosecution.”

To protect lives and property, penalties alone are insufficient. We urge the current government to meet this task. Rep. Ahmed Yinka Aluko brought up this issue, and the National Assembly discussed it, but the House’s resolution has not yet been put into action.

“Recently, the House Committee on Steel Development also waded in to the matter, but we are aware the SON hasn’t been available in providing the details requested on certain steel manufacturers in Nigeria and we begin to wonder what cause are they serving; is it that of Nigerians whose common patrimony is used in paying them or stubborn substandard manufacturers, mostly expatriates who have no regard for the lives of Nigerians?” Awoyale recalled in the statement.

“The National Assembly has discussed this issue when brought up by Representative Ahmed Yinka Aluko, but we have not yet seen the House’s resolution put into action,” he continued.

Awoyale urged the National Assembly to take another look at the measure that would make inferior steel and other goods illegal in Nigeria.