CPC Strategises To Protect Consumer Rights
The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on Monday said it has begun the implementation of far-reaching strategic initiatives and sectoral interventions in order to enhance the protection of consumers’ rights across the country.
The Director-General of the Council, Mrs Dupe Atoki,made this known on Monday while decrying the high rate of consumer rights abuses in the telecommunications, aviation, banking and power sectors of the economy.
Speaking at a public lecture titled: “The State of Consumer Rights Protection in Nigeria” organised by the Human Right Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Atoki said, the prevalence of consumer abuses in different sectors of the nation’s economy had resulted in a situation where consumers were not getting value for their money.
However, she said, sectoral intervention has been identified as a major strategy for evaluation of business operations under the various sectors in order to arrest identified adverse trends and thereby resolve individual complaints.
According to her, CPC had carried out major interventions in the food and beverage as well as the aviation sectors.
She added that both involved full-scale investigations into the operations of businesses and the issuance of orders of council for appropriate remedies from different infractions.
Atoki, therefore, called for increased collaboration among regulatory agencies across the country to ensure adequate protection of consumer rights.
“Genuine businesses must comply with regulations and specified standards for goods and services in the country.
“Efforts must be made by regulatory agencies to collaborate with one another in order foster seamless relationships in the regulation of businesses to ensure effective protection of consumers,” she said.
