The Chief Executive Officer of Erisco foods Limited Chief Eric Umeofia has urged Nigerians to differeciate between product review and malicious statements.
In an interview with journalists on the recent encounter with a product reviewer Chioma Egodi who took to her social media to allege that the Nagiko tomatoe paste she bought was too sugary, Chief Umeofia expressed disappointment on the approach to the issue pointing out there is a rightful/ legal process to review a product and not taking to social media to make unverified claims.
Chief Umeofia said there was no evidence of the reviewer buying or using the product as no report was made to Erisco company or any of the government regulatory bodies including National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC or Federal Competition Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC.
No traces of badge number, where and date the product was bought.
Chief Umeofia however expressed his reservations on the reaction of the FCCPC boss Chief Babatunde Irukera for allegedly taking side with the consumer on his social media handle instead of conducting a proper investigation on the matter and directing the consumer to follow the right process of complain.
On how the issue started, Chief Umeofia said, Chioma Egodi made a post on social media, a review and further engagement under the review she made showed that it was not an honest review rather there was an attempt to bring down the Nagiko product because response on the comment section she said people should go and tell Erisco Foods to stop killing people.
Chief Umeofia said the company followed the legal process by reporting report to the Nigeriam police.
He said Chioma Egod in company of the husband , friends and relatives at the police station apologized to Erisco Foods limited but later reneged claiming the apology was made under duress.
Chief Umeofia advised Nigerians to desist from using social media handle to harrass companies and generate traffic on their pages to the detriment of a manufacturing company.
”If it is a product review, as you people assumed, she would have posted it and allowed people to review. But where she said by herself that our product is killing people…we now began to suspect what is this nonsense? We will not allow our efforts of 40 years to now be destroyed by a syndicate of importers that have been fighting our products since the beginning.””
The Erisco Foods Chief Executive Officer who alleged it was a plot against Erisco Foods limited because the company had continued to work hard and encourage Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria product pointed out that NAFDAC and Standard Organisation Of Nigeria, SON have visited Erisco Foods company at Oregun and certified the product healthy as he recounted his looses on the issue.
“I have a credit line of $15 million from two customers, which is now suspended from China! Because they said I am not likely to pay them the credit if they give me. She did not post it as agreed. If she doesn’t post it there, we are going for N5 billion.
“Even that is small money for me to ask of her. $30 million, do you know how much it is? For the past five years, I have never gotten any credit in Nigeria. No loan. For the past three years, I have never gotten $1 foreign exchange,” he said.
It will be recalled that Mrs Chioma Egodi, on September 17, published a product review on her Facebook page, saying she went to buy tomatoe paste but could not find her usual brand and she opted for Nagiko tomatoe paste a product of Erisco Foods, she said it is too surgery when in actual fact the product contains sugar as approved by NAFDAC
The statement generated comments which in her response to the comments said Erisco Foods should be advised to stop killing people.
Erisco Foods company limited made a report to the police and she was summoned for questioning.
