The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC),
Babatunde Irukera, has insisted that businesses in the country must
be responsive to consumer grievances and must institutionalize and
prioritize complaint resolution policies and mechanism, stressing
that this is the hallmark of company and brand reputation.
Irukera noted that the current regime was unsustainable as it is
tantamount to government subsidizing business, stating that the CPC
should not substitute company customer care as a multi-company
customer service desk.
Specifically, he opined that businesses have factored the cost
of complaint resolution into their profitability and as such should
not outsource it to the government, while underscoring the
important role of the CPC in ensuring resolution that is fair and
equitable.
The director general made the assertion while a more
collaborative relationship with the Civil Society, Consumer
Protection Associations (CPAs), Non-governmental Organisations
(NGOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) at a round-table
session organized by the Council in Abuja.
He argued that “companies have both commercial and social
contracts with consumers. to companies, they customers, not
consumers.
On the motive behind the round table forum, Irukera asserted
that the Council seeks an effective partnership with the civil
society for robust protection of consumers across our vast
country.
According to him, “any credible and people-oriented leadership
will embrace civil society and as such for me, an engagement with
those in civil society is paramount”.
As part of the new engagement, the director general disclosed
that the Council was implementing a more stringent registration
process for CSOs, NGOs, CBOs and CPAs, explaining that the
additional scrutiny is to ensure the integrity and credibility of
both the Council and its partners.
Irukera, while fielding questions from reporters after
addressing the session, said “the most important thing to achieve
from here is to first of all, let the civil society generally know
that we believe that the shared burden of consumer protection is
something that we must continue to emphasise and highlight and to
also create a network where we are exchanging and ideas and
direction.”
Also speaking at the event, the representative of the United
Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Professor
Abimbola Uzomah observed that the work of consumer protection
should not be left to the Council alone, emphasizing that it was
the responsibility of every Nigerian consumer to entrench a virile
consumer protection in Nigeria.
Uzomah, who said market-place abuse has become so prevalent in
Nigeria because of consumer apathy, commended the Council for
organising the strategic engagement with NGOs, CBOs and other
relevant stakeholders with the aim of extending consumer education
to the grassroots.
The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC),
Babatunde Irukera, has insisted that businesses in the country must
be responsive to consumer grievances and must institutionalize and
prioritize complaint resolution policies and mechanism, stressing
that this is the hallmark of company and brand reputation.
Irukera noted that the current regime was unsustainable as it is
tantamount to government subsidizing business, stating that the CPC
should not substitute company customer care as a multi-company
customer service desk.
Specifically, he opined that businesses have factored the cost
of complaint resolution into their profitability and as such should
not outsource it to the government, while underscoring the
important role of the CPC in ensuring resolution that is fair and
equitable.
The director general made the assertion while a more
collaborative relationship with the Civil Society, Consumer
Protection Associations (CPAs), Non-governmental Organisations
(NGOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) at a round-table
session organized by the Council in Abuja.
He argued that “companies have both commercial and social
contracts with consumers. to companies, they customers, not
consumers.
On the motive behind the round table forum, Irukera asserted
that the Council seeks an effective partnership with the civil
society for robust protection of consumers across our vast
country.
According to him, “any credible and people-oriented leadership
will embrace civil society and as such for me, an engagement with
those in civil society is paramount”.
As part of the new engagement, the director general disclosed
that the Council was implementing a more stringent registration
process for CSOs, NGOs, CBOs and CPAs, explaining that the
additional scrutiny is to ensure the integrity and credibility of
both the Council and its partners.
Irukera, while fielding questions from reporters after
addressing the session, said “the most important thing to achieve
from here is to first of all, let the civil society generally know
that we believe that the shared burden of consumer protection is
something that we must continue to emphasise and highlight and to
also create a network where we are exchanging and ideas and
direction.”
Also speaking at the event, the representative of the United
Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Professor
Abimbola Uzomah observed that the work of consumer protection
should not be left to the Council alone, emphasizing that it was
the responsibility of every Nigerian consumer to entrench a virile
consumer protection in Nigeria.
Uzomah, who said market-place abuse has become so prevalent in
Nigeria because of consumer apathy, commended the Council for
organising the strategic engagement with NGOs, CBOs and other
relevant stakeholders with the aim of extending consumer education
to the grassroots.