By VINCENT UJUMADU
AWKA—THE Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, said, yesterday, that there were about 50 million substandard tyres in various markets in Nigeria.

Director-General of the agency, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, who disclosed this in Awka, Anambra State, said such tyres were responsible for the increasing number of road accidents in the country.

Odumodu, whose organisation organized a road show in Awka to enlighten the people on  dangers of patronizing substandard tyres, said in spite of  efforts of his agency and other collaborative bodies to rid the country of substandard tyres, only about 10 million of the fake products had been impounded and removed from the shelves.

He said even some brand new tyres were not good enough for use and regretted a situation where some unscrupulous Nigerian businessmen connived with foreigners to import substandard tyres into the country.

The DG also said in addition to the dangers of patronizing substandard tyres, the country’s economy had been adversely affected, adding that it was the importation of such tyres that led to closure of tyre manufacturers as Michelin and Dunlop and  loss of hundreds of jobs in the country.