In a bid to effectively check the menace of counterfeit products in public offices, the federal government has said it will embark on general survey on all HP computers, toners and partner HP computer manufacturers to procure only genuine products for maximum output.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, Mr. Musa Istifanus, who was represented by the Director of ICT in the Ministry, Mrs. Monilola Udoh, stated this during a meeting between the management staff of the Ministry and a delegation of HP computer manufacturers in Abuja.
The director described the rise of counterfeit products in the country as a huge challenge that was worrisome. She assured that the Federal Ministry of Communications would survey all HP computers in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
According to her, "we will encourage registration with HP to supply genuine computer systems and parts, service the bad ones through their certified engineers and distributors to put an end to the ugly trend of illegal distributors who make consumers to pay more for bad products that end up not serving their purposes."
Udoh, expressed government's displeasure about the many fake products in the Nigerian market and charged the company to intensify enlightenment campaigns and workshops to educate consumers on the indicators for identifying fake products and their implications on consumers and the economy.
The director also urged them to put up a workshop for all procurement directors across all MDAs to sensitise them on the negative effects of counterfeit products, how they affect manpower and how to avoid falling victims to counterfeit products so that public funds would not be wasted on buying products that would not serve their purposes.
She stated that counterfeit remained a general problem, and assured that the Federal Ministry of Communications would partner HP to avoid patronage of fake products and to save the federal government from avoidable costs.
The Manager at HP Office in Abuja, Mr. Emmanuel Eze, said the company was determined to provide consumers' satisfaction, having put in place certain control measures such as buying the products through authorised distributors and retailers, monitoring their activities while enlightening the beneficiaries on how to avoid counterfeit products.
In a presentation at the meeting, the Business Manager at HP, Mr. Olamide Ojo, also said there were so many counterfeit products in the market, which according to him, remained a global phenomenon not peculiar to Nigeria alone, where illegal manufacturers fake company's products to look like the original, which at the end failed to serve the consumers.
According to him, the ugly trend of counterfeit products had not only cost the company millions of dollars but had also cost unsuspecting consumers their hard earned money and denied them of real consumer satisfaction.
