President of Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPAMDA), Trade Fair complex, Lagos, Hon. Ngozi Emechebe, has expressed worry over the use of fake spare parts despite repeated warnings and actions. He said the fake parts’ use had led to many avoidable fatal road traffic crashes in Nigeria, resulting in numerous deaths, serious injuries and loss of vehicles as well as goods. He made the remarks recently in Lagos at the opening ceremony of the 2024 West Africa Automotive Show (WAAS) in Lagos. Emechebe who spoke on the topic: ‘The Challenge of Substandard Parts in the Market’, quoted experts as estimating that Nigeria was losing N100 billion annually to road crashes caused by the use of fake parts on automobiles. According to him, in the auto sector, the use of fake parts has led to many road traffic crashes on the Nigerian highways resulting in injuries and deaths; and economic wastage as unsuspecting patrons of fake parts are forced to spend more on the long run. He added that faking auto parts had partly stunted the growth of the auto industry in Nigeria. Highlighting the benefit of genuine parts, the ASPAMDA boss said, “The use of genuine auto parts comes with a lot of benefits such as safety which should be a top priority for any vehicle owner. Investing in high-quality automobile spare parts ensures your vehicle is safe and reliable; and it also ensures guaranteed warranty protection. Other benefits associated with the use of genuine parts, according to him, include lowering total cost, ensuring quality and reliability of vehicles. “A non-genuine spare can offer a lower “up front” cost. This may provide a short-term gain, but it takes no account of the total cost,” he disclosed. Emechebe also spoke on the collaboration between ASPAMDA and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to address the problem of fake part sale and use. He said, “At the ASPAMDA market in Lagos, we do not tolerate the distribution of fake parts as our members are well informed and enlightened to avoid dealings in fake parts.
“To tell you how serious we are against the distribution of fake parts within our market, we have partnered with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) who facilitate periodic seminars against fake parts. “We have also provided a permanent office to SON inside our market, where full-time SON personnel are stationed, working with us in this regard.
“Let me seize this opportunity to commend SON for its relentless fight against fake parts in Nigeria.” He further called on other auto parts markets in Nigeria to emulate the example of ASPAMDA in its partnership with SON. “I call on the Federal Government to boost the capacity of SON so that it can expand its operations in fighting this scourge in Nigeria. “The fight against production and selling of fake auto spare parts must be seen as a collective responsibility. All stakeholders must therefore collaborate to expose those engaged in the criminal act and severely punish the criminals,” he said.