The management of Ekulo Group of Companies, manufacturers of Eva range of soaps, has cried out that importers of fake and substandard soaps into the market are sabotaging their efforts in giving consumers high quality soaps.

At a media briefing in Lagos, where the company unveiled a new range of Eva soaps, some fake soaps being brought into the market by some unscrupulous individuals were also displayed.

Speaking on the development, the General Manager of Evans Industries, Mr. Dan Nwaiwu, called on relevant regulatory authorities to check the trend to save local manufacturers. He also identified lack of interest in the nation's manufacturing sector by prominent Nigerians, as the major cause of the slow growth the economy has witnessed in recent times.

The GM noted that rather than invest in the nation's manufacturing sector and enhance the economy, many affluent Nigerians prefer to buy state-of-the-art vehicles and properties in foreign lands.

"Unfortunately, it is obvious we can't achieve the much-needed growth in the nation's economy if we continue like this. The rate of unemployment still remains alarmingly high because there is dearth of activities in the nation's real sector, and until more people begin to show interest in investing in the sector, we will not move forward as a nation," he stated.

He appealed to the Federal Government to prevail on the relevant regulatory bodies to assist the nation's manufacturers in fighting the war against counterfeiting, noting that high-selling goods are being cloned by counterfeiters on a daily basis; a development, he stated, had succeeded in crippling not a few manufacturing businesses in the country.

"We have been having serious issues with the fakers. The danger in this is that most times some of these products sold are substandard and even harmful; since they contain some ingredients that should not be used in the first place. Unfortunately, many consumers would not know these details," he stated.

Appealing to the media to sensitise the consumers on the need to patronise genuine products, Nwaiwu explained that the company had put in place some security features in the new products that would make it difficult for them to be counterfeited.

He stated that the company's new Eva range of soaps was vegetable-based and designed for the nation's feminine gender, desirous of maintaining a glowing skin.