‘Be more responsive to the resolution of consumer complaints’

The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera, has said 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.

The DG stated this at a round-table session organized recently by the Council in Abuja and attended by Civil Society, Consumer Protection Associations (CPAs), Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs).

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 said that businesses have factored the cost of complaint resolution into their profitability and as such should not out source it to the government, while underscoring the important role of the CPC in ensuring resolution that is fair and equitable.

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”.