We Have Concluded A Patient’s Bill Of Rights — DG CPC

* Says We Are In Talk With Airlines To Provide A
Customer Friendly Experience

Almost a year in office, the Director General of the Consumer
Protection Council, Babatunde Irukera Esq, talks to NBA Lawyers in
the Media about his work at the CPC for the last one year.

Irukera observed that the media plays a major role in the work
of the CPC, noting that a lot of information is received and
disseminated through various media platforms and in this regard,
the Lawyers in the media are a key stakeholder in promoting
consumer protection.

On the structure of the CPC he said that the structure he
inherited a year ago as DG was insufficient to sustain the mandate
of the CPC as a result, he resolved to maintain a balance within
the CPC itself for the purpose of achieving its aims and
objectives.

The DG highlighted some improvements in its relationship with
various government regulators by the signing and broadening the
memorandums of understanding it has with the regulators. A few of
Such regulators are the EFCC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria,
NAFDAC, just to mention a few.

The DG said he was happy with the National Assembly and the
Executive arm of government for their commitment towards Consumer
Protection. He however observed that there is much still yet to be
achieved through enabling legislations and enforcements of consumer
rights

The DG said that the CPC was currently looking into Cable TV
issues in Nigeria and had concluded a Patient’s Bill of Rights
documents to assist in the relationship between the public and
health services providers.

The DG noted that the CPC had enhanced its media presence for
the benefit of the public and this has paid off in the increase of
complaints received and have been dealt with by the Council over
the last few months. He thanked the media in the role they have
played in putting pressure on the government to ensure that the
rights of consumers are upheld and protected

In line with the increased awareness of the CPC’s work, the DG
announced that they are about to establish a comprehensive
automated communications and complaints system which makes it
easier for the public to make complaints, get feedback and have
their complaints resolved timely. He said the CPC will make
available facebook, twitter and other communications channels open
to the public for a more robust interaction with the Council.

The DG announced that they have recently reworked the Sales
Promotions Guidelines to ensure that those who do sales promotions
can and will actually deliver on their promises to the
beneficiaries of a sales promo.

The DG noted sadly, that very few companies had a customer
feedback mechanism in place neither do they have Conflict
Resolution Mechanism so that consumers can know how to engage with
the company whose goods or services they have an issue with. He
said that the CPC is working hard to encourage goods and services
providers to have these mechanisms so that consumers can resolve
their issues in a timely fashion.

The DG said that as part of its efforts to reaching out to the
consumers, another office was opened in Kano to take complaints
from that region. This, together with the established offices in
Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and PortHarcourt will ensure that the CPC’s
present is felt. He reiterated how difficult it was to educate
consumters across the nation and noted that the CPC is looking at
partnering with major companies with nation-wide reach to assist
with consumer education.

The CPC noted that the bulk of the complaints received by the
council in the past year were complaints about estimated billings,
group electricity disconnections, Bank charges and
telecommunications issues. He said that the Council is doing its
best to resolve all of these issues and that a few of the companies
are already cooperating with the council to resolve consumer
complaints as this can be seen by recent policy announcements in
the power sector for instance.

Concerning the Aviation sector, the DG said that the council is
in talks with the airlines to provide a more customer friendly
travel experiences while noting that most of the complaints were in
regards to delayed and cancelled flights.

The DG said that the Council was embarking on a campaign with
the theme: DEMAND AND INSIST ON YOUR RIGHTS. He said that the way
the council will operate is to first issue a RELEASE about a
particular situation, then CLARIFY with the concerned service
provider/ consumer then issue an ADVISORY on how the issue should
be dealt with.

The DG said he has however faced several challenges including,
insufficient funds and resources, regulatory capacity concerns and
finally consumer apathy. He called on the public to demand for
quality services and to speak up if they felt their rights were
being violated.

* Says We Are In Talk With Airlines To Provide A
Customer Friendly Experience

Almost a year in office, the Director General of the Consumer
Protection Council, Babatunde Irukera Esq, talks to NBA Lawyers in
the Media about his work at the CPC for the last one year.

Irukera observed that the media plays a major role in the work
of the CPC, noting that a lot of information is received and
disseminated through various media platforms and in this regard,
the Lawyers in the media are a key stakeholder in promoting
consumer protection.

On the structure of the CPC he said that the structure he
inherited a year ago as DG was insufficient to sustain the mandate
of the CPC as a result, he resolved to maintain a balance within
the CPC itself for the purpose of achieving its aims and
objectives.

The DG highlighted some improvements in its relationship with
various government regulators by the signing and broadening the
memorandums of understanding it has with the regulators. A few of
Such regulators are the EFCC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria,
NAFDAC, just to mention a few.

The DG said he was happy with the National Assembly and the
Executive arm of government for their commitment towards Consumer
Protection. He however observed that there is much still yet to be
achieved through enabling legislations and enforcements of consumer
rights

The DG said that the CPC was currently looking into Cable TV
issues in Nigeria and had concluded a Patient’s Bill of Rights
documents to assist in the relationship between the public and
health services providers.

The DG noted that the CPC had enhanced its media presence for
the benefit of the public and this has paid off in the increase of
complaints received and have been dealt with by the Council over
the last few months. He thanked the media in the role they have
played in putting pressure on the government to ensure that the
rights of consumers are upheld and protected

In line with the increased awareness of the CPC’s work, the DG
announced that they are about to establish a comprehensive
automated communications and complaints system which makes it
easier for the public to make complaints, get feedback and have
their complaints resolved timely. He said the CPC will make
available facebook, twitter and other communications channels open
to the public for a more robust interaction with the Council.

The DG announced that they have recently reworked the Sales
Promotions Guidelines to ensure that those who do sales promotions
can and will actually deliver on their promises to the
beneficiaries of a sales promo.

The DG noted sadly, that very few companies had a customer
feedback mechanism in place neither do they have Conflict
Resolution Mechanism so that consumers can know how to engage with
the company whose goods or services they have an issue with. He
said that the CPC is working hard to encourage goods and services
providers to have these mechanisms so that consumers can resolve
their issues in a timely fashion.

The DG said that as part of its efforts to reaching out to the
consumers, another office was opened in Kano to take complaints
from that region. This, together with the established offices in
Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and PortHarcourt will ensure that the CPC’s
present is felt. He reiterated how difficult it was to educate
consumters across the nation and noted that the CPC is looking at
partnering with major companies with nation-wide reach to assist
with consumer education.

The CPC noted that the bulk of the complaints received by the
council in the past year were complaints about estimated billings,
group electricity disconnections, Bank charges and
telecommunications issues. He said that the Council is doing its
best to resolve all of these issues and that a few of the companies
are already cooperating with the council to resolve consumer
complaints as this can be seen by recent policy announcements in
the power sector for instance.

Concerning the Aviation sector, the DG said that the council is
in talks with the airlines to provide a more customer friendly
travel experiences while noting that most of the complaints were in
regards to delayed and cancelled flights.

The DG said that the Council was embarking on a campaign with
the theme: DEMAND AND INSIST ON YOUR RIGHTS. He said that the way
the council will operate is to first issue a RELEASE about a
particular situation, then CLARIFY with the concerned service
provider/ consumer then issue an ADVISORY on how the issue should
be dealt with.

The DG said he has however faced several challenges including,
insufficient funds and resources, regulatory capacity concerns and
finally consumer apathy. He called on the public to demand for
quality services and to speak up if they felt their rights were
being violated.