Big companies must have complaints, resolution mechanism – Irukera
Babatunde Irukera, DG Consumer Protection Council (CPC) had a parley recently in Lagos with the media. He spoke on consumers’ complaints, resolutions and interventions in the last one year among other issues. Excerpts: regulation, for signature and gazetting, what that does is how we assess sales promotion.
In our country today we see all kinds of sales promos even where the promos are not supported and there is no way to know for sure. We have completely reworked the guidelines and the regulations and so all sale promos must now have a statement providing evidence that everything is available to be won and is verifiable. Either you have purchased it or there is an agreement for supplying it. For instance, someone said you could win an aircraft. What we would want is to show us evidence that you already have an understanding with aircraft manufacturers; that they will bring the aircraft. So, promotions that you see now would be sincerer.
We have expanded and opened up a new office in Kano. Our efficiency model now is not entirely on opening new offices. One of the heartbreaking things I discovered is that in many companies in Nigeria, where you are dissatisfied with their product, there is no process for your complaint and resolution. Such as having a telephone number that you can call. So, we will insist that big companies have a complaint resolution mechanism.
You are almost a year in office, how visible is the CPC to the public? The internal infrastructure of the council is better now than it was a year ago. People understand the role of the council and are now better motivated and inspired. Those who are responsible for the key public/consumer interface have come up a lot on how they do their work and I can say that the council is far better today than it was then. CPC is far more visible and prominent now. We are harvesting complaints, even on Twitter.
To what extent have you met your mandate?
With respect to the mandate, the first thing we succeeded in doing is addressing the council’s relationship. Before, the council was so much fragmented but we now have some consensus within it. Outside the council, the relation with other regulators has certainly improved. We now have very ambitious documents with different regulators, such as the EFCC and NCC, that are very promising.
The legal framework on how the CPC can be more effective is receiving some attention. I wish it can come quicker. The CPC is currently enjoying the best cooperation with SON and NAFDAC in a decade. Both organisations have openly expressed willingness to leverage on our skills and resources and we leverage on theirs to achieve the common good.
The CPC relationship with other stakeholders has also improved significantly. We have built more infrastructure that would allow us move rapidly in the coming year. Protecting consumers is an obligation and what I need from the media is not just coverage but partnership which is more enduring.
What are the key interventions the CPC has recorded under your watch?
As at today we are at the very closing point of a very broad investigation into cable television services. It has been a very long, intense and comprehensive investigation. In the coming weeks, there will be either a mutual term of settlement or consent judgement because the evidence is overwhelming as to what has gone wrong and that is going to be a very key sector intervention.
This is not the first time the CPC has intervened in that sector. Previously there were engagements but now we have interventions and that is the reason why complaints have risen higher and so the intervention that we are pursuing now will be more systemic and institutionalised so that it would be sustainable.
We are also working on a “Patient’s Bill of Rights” and that has been concluded, what has now taken time is getting consensus of all health providers and the Ministry of Health, we have gotten all that lined up now before the final document.
This quarter, we are coming out with a comprehensive automated system, that automates the complaint resolution mechanism and expands the channels of complains. Meaning that people can complain by telephone, SMS, via Twitter and all the key social media platforms. We are bringing the companies on the complaint platforms too so that when the complaints come, they will see it. And we are giving them an opportunity to take the complaints first and resolve them before the CPC gets involved.
During sales promotions, consumers often find out that they have been deceived after parting with their money, how can CPC address this?
We have completely reworked our sales promotion
What about educating consumers on their right?
The CPC alone does not have the resources to educate consumers. The service providers and manufacturers somehow find a way to get their products to consumers, so consumer education is also the responsibility of service providers and manufacturers. We would do that together so that in their messages, they will use that to carry information as to the right of the consumers.
Nigerians are dissatisfied with electricity supply and crazy bills, what is CPC doing?
Independent companies can now do electricity meters because the NERC has given them the go ahead. The biggest complaint in electricity is arbitrary billing and mass disconnection. Both of which can be addressed by metering. We are succeeding in the changing of attitude of service providers.