NEMSA Eyes Partnership With Customs Against Fake Electrical Products

Managing director and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Engr Aliyu Tukur Tahir, is pressing for a strong collaboration between his organization, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to rid the country of substandard electrical products used in the country’s power value chain.

Tahir, who is also the chief electrical inspector of the federation, believes that the envisaged partnership will ensure that the fake electrical materials are stopped at the point of entry across the country.

NEMSA was set up through the 2015 Act now the Electricity Act 2023 to undertake enforcement of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection, testing, and certification of all categories of electrical installations, electricity meters, and instruments to ensure an efficient production and delivery of safe, reliable and sustainable electricity power supply, guarantee safety of life and property in Nigeria.

In an interview with some select journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Tahir said the Act establishing NEMSA has provisions that mandate it to collaborate with SON to ensure that all electrical materials and equipment are of the right quality and standards.

The NEMSA chief said although there exists a collaboration with SON, his agency’s presence at the entry points would enable the stakeholders to nip the problem of substandard electrical equipment in the bud.

It is against this background that he wants the partnership extended to the NCS so that “NEMSA can access  Customs’ platforms to inspect and certify these materials before they are allowed into the country.”

He said, “We are already in talks with the Customs, especially on substandard materials that are coming into the country to allow NEMSA access to their platforms where we can also inspect and certify these materials before they enter into Nigeria. This is a process that is going on. In the next couple of years, this issue of substandard materials and equipment will be a thing of the past in Nigeria.”

Tahir further said that his outfit has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SON because NEMSA is part and parcel of the committees that were set up by SON to develop these standards.

“Right from inception, we have been part of developing these standards. I agree with you that there are a lot of substandard electrical materials and equipment in the country. We are not at the entry points. But the Customs and SON have been at the entry points. So, our collaboration with SON is that when we carry out statutory activities such as inspection of these electrical installations; when we identify substandard electrical materials and equipment, we ensure that they are removed from the system and the market. We have a standing committee between us that is in charge of identifying and ensuring that these materials are removed from the market.

He explained that NEMSA is looking at an MoU to identify more areas of collaboration.

To that effect, the agency held a meeting with the new director-general of SON about the collaboration and extending it to other agencies such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) “where we give them expert advice on cases of consumers having issues with electricity supplies. We are also working with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to ensure that facilities to be insured are inspected and certified before such insurance policies are signed.”