Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state has inaugurated a new standardized weighing and measuring scales to be used across the state, this he said will reduce the rate in which sellers short changed buyers. Speaking at the inauguration of the new scales, he said:

“In the quest to be competitive and make more profit, which is greed traders now devise varying means of short-changing buyers. Measures are deliberately reduced through cutting, filling with candles and wax, and sleight of hand.

“Scales are tilted fraudulently while husks, chaffs, barks and other rubbish are included in goods sold, with the intention of reducing the actual value of what the buyers take home.

“One of the tragedies of this immoral practice is that foreigners began to distrust our export because, for instance, cocoa graders put top grades at the top of the sack, leaving poor quality at the bottom, and in the process, collect money for the top grade.

“Those who are in the business can tell you what loss they suffered because the foreigners distrusted their products and classified all cocoa coming from our land as inferior, irrespective of the grade.”

The former Commissioner for Industries, Commerce, Cooperatives and Empowerment, Mr. Ismaila Adekunle Jayeoba-Alagbada, in his opening remark said:

“I need to emphasise that market women and men had been fully mobilised to key into this emerging commercial revolution.

“Both the leadership and the followership of the associations of market women and men had agreed, not only to comply with the right use of the scales and measures but to continuously carry out peer reviews with a view to ensuring flawless implementation of the standardised weighing scales and measures programme.

“I want to place it on record that, but for the grace of God and the dogged determination of Mr. Governor, this launch and indeed the entire standardised scales and measures programme would have been a mirage,”

The President General of Osun State Market Women Association, Alhaja Awawu Asindemade, said the standardised scale became necessary owing to imbalance in measurement and fraud in commercial activities.

She however warned that the introduction of the standard scale should not translate to increase in commodity price system in the market.

“It is in a bid to correct the anomaly in measurement and scale that the Government of Osun introduced the standardised weighing scales in markets in the state so as to forestall fraud and cheating in measurement.

“As we welcome this innovation, I call on my constituency – market men and women – to cooperate with government to make this a success.

“Besides, introduction of this weight and measurement does is not and should not lead to increase in price of commodities in our market,”

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