Isola Moses

In line with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Act 2019 and its renewed vigour towards ‘promoting choice’ and ‘ensuring fairness’ to Nigerian consumers of products and services, the Commission says it currently prosecutes no less than 6,850 consumer protection-oriented open cases in various law courts.

Mr. Babatunde Irukera, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FCCPC, disclosed this at a recent Strategic Media Engagement forum held in Ikeja, Lagos.

According to Mr. Irukera, FCCPC now receives about 1,000 consumer complaints weekly, which he describes as considerable increase from between 700 and 1,000 complaints it was receiving yearly in the past.

The sharp increase in the number of complaints, he stated, is a reflection of a comparatively high level of awareness creation and consumer confidence in the foremost consumer protection agency in the country.

“This shows that our role is becoming more visible, consumers are beginning to know their rights. A recent perception index showed that the Commission has become more responsive.

“I also think we have succeeded in inspiring the workforce in becoming more efficient and resolving more complaints,” he said.

In regard to responsibility of the industry in promoting choice and ensuring fairness while dealing with the consumers, he said with the business intelligence apparatus of the FCCPC on infractions, the industry players are being made to understand that there is a functional enforcement mechanism in place at the Commission.

According to him, the organisation has fast-tracked the turnaround time of handling and resolving consumer complaints in recent times.