5 Agencies that are responsible for enforcing your Consumer Rights in Nigeria
5 Agencies that are responsible for enforcing your right as a consumer
I have previously taken you through your 8 Consumer rights. It is assumed that you are aware of your rights as a consumer. The question now is if my rights are violated, which agencies do i go to enforce my consumer rights and how effectively would they resolve my complaints? This was one of the issues i had to deal with when our electricity supply was disconnected. At first, we were skeptical about the ability of NERC to handle our complaints promptly and efficiently but we became impressed when they resolved our issues with the electricity distribution company amicably and without delay.
The 5 agencies that are responsible for enforcing your rights as a consumer are:
1.
: Consumer Protection Council is a parastatal of the Federal Government of Nigeria, supervised by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment. It was established by virtue of the Consumer Protection Council Act No. 66 of 1992.Their Mandate includes among others, to:
:One of the key departments of the National Communications Commission is the Consumer Affairs Bureau. It was created in September 2001 by the Commission through Chapter VII of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), In particular, Part 1 of the Act which deals with Consumer Protection and the quality of Service.
The Mission of the Consumer Affairs Bureau is to ensure the protection of the rights and privileges of telecommunication consumers, including the physically challenged groups through adequate information dissemination programmes as well as effective policies and strategies that promote effective telecom service delivery.
The Consumer Affairs Bureau comprises of three units:
: The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was established under Decree No. 15 of 1993 to among other things; regulate and control the importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, use of processed foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water and chemicals. The establishment of NAFDAC was to protect the interest and welfare of the consumer.
Since the agency came on board, it has been recording a measure of success through educating the public, registering both locally manufactured and imported products and sanctioning producers and sellers of unregistered, illegal and unwholesome products in Nigeria.
4.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was created by virtue of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005.
The primary duty of NERC is to protect the interest of consumers in relation to electricity generated and that conveyed to distribution and transmission systems.
. Central Bank of Nigeria: One of the core functions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as enshrined in Section 2 (d) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 is the promotion of a Sound financial system in Nigeria. Implicit in this function is the promotion of the safety and stability of the financial system to among others, engender and sustain public confidence in it.
The C.B.N discharges this statutory mandate trough the Financial System Stability Directorate.
In furtherance of its statutory responsibility to promote confidence in the financial system, the C.B.N over the years implemented a measure of consumer protection mainly in the form of customer complaint management. While the arrangement served to protect the rights of consumers of financial products and services, it was limited in scope as it did not address the poor level of financial literacy of some consumer in Nigeria.
On the 7th of November, 2016, the Central Bank of Nigeria released the Consumer Protection Framework aimed at enhancing consumer confidence in the financial services industry and promoting financial stability, growth and innovation among operators.
The framework further aims to protect customer's assets, ensure timely complaints handling and dispute resolution as well as ensure that financial services operators put in place effective consumer risk management framework.
The framework also seeks to empower consumers to make informed decisions; promote professionalism and ethics and outline the rights and responsibilities of consumers.
The Consumer Protection framework came at a time of growing concerns over bank's alleged unethical conducts towards consumers, particularly in the areas of arbitrary bank charges.
Under the 2016 Framework, bank consumers and other consumers are allowed to engage in banking transactions with their preferred financial institutions. They also have the right to terminate contracts, change or switch financial institutions and or services subject to contractual terms.
I hope you now know where to go to if your consumer rights have been or is likely to be infringed? Please feel free to like, share and post a comment.
Have a lovely day and thank you.
I have previously taken you through your 8 Consumer rights. It is assumed that you are aware of your rights as a consumer. The question now is if my rights are violated, which agencies do i go to enforce my consumer rights and how effectively would they resolve my complaints? This was one of the issues i had to deal with when our electricity supply was disconnected. At first, we were skeptical about the ability of NERC to handle our complaints promptly and efficiently but we became impressed when they resolved our issues with the electricity distribution company amicably and without delay.
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| Photo Credit: dreamtime.com |
1.
- Eliminate hazardous products from the market and cause offenders to replace such products with more appropriate alternatives.
- Cause an offending company or individual to protect, compensate and provide relief and safeguards to injured consumers or communities from adverse effects of technologies that are inherently harmful.
- Provide speedy redress to consumers complaints through negotiation, mediation and conciliation.
- Publish, from time to time, the lists of products the consumption and sale of which have been banned, withdrawn, severally restricted or not approved by the Federal Government.
- Undertake campaigns as will lead to increased consumer awareness,
- Ensure that consumers interest receive due consideration at the appropriate forum, and,
- Encourage trade, industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers.
The most important function of the Consumer Protection Council is to ensure that consumers are aware of their rights and get adequate redress. So if you buy a product or service and it turns out to be fake, sub-standard, defective or hazardous to your health. feel free to contact the consumer protection council for a redress and be sure to get our complaint resolved.
2.
2.
:One of the key departments of the National Communications Commission is the Consumer Affairs Bureau. It was created in September 2001 by the Commission through Chapter VII of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), In particular, Part 1 of the Act which deals with Consumer Protection and the quality of Service.
The Mission of the Consumer Affairs Bureau is to ensure the protection of the rights and privileges of telecommunication consumers, including the physically challenged groups through adequate information dissemination programmes as well as effective policies and strategies that promote effective telecom service delivery.
The Consumer Affairs Bureau comprises of three units:
- The Information and Reference unit whose responsibility is to disseminate information through various channels on the rights and obligation of consumers with a view to empowering consumers and other stakeholders in the industry.
- The Consumer Policy and Development Monitoring unit which is tasked with the development of Consumer friendly policies and monitoring of quality service by network operators.
- The Consumer protection and advocacy unit which is charged with the protection of all telecommunication consumers and ensures that their queries are attended to by their service providers.
3.
: The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was established under Decree No. 15 of 1993 to among other things; regulate and control the importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, use of processed foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water and chemicals. The establishment of NAFDAC was to protect the interest and welfare of the consumer.Since the agency came on board, it has been recording a measure of success through educating the public, registering both locally manufactured and imported products and sanctioning producers and sellers of unregistered, illegal and unwholesome products in Nigeria.
4.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was created by virtue of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005.The primary duty of NERC is to protect the interest of consumers in relation to electricity generated and that conveyed to distribution and transmission systems.
- The Commission in discharging its responsibilities of consumer protection in consultation with licensees developed Customer Service Standards and Fair pricing Rules.
- Facilitates constant communication with consumers to ensure they understand their rights and obligations;
- Ensures that materials on consumer rights (Safety and Services e.t.c) are up to date, available and readily accesible.
- Establishes and ensures effective dispute resolution mechanisms to guarantee consumer protection while also encouraging private sector participation. The commission has various forums in all the parts of the country where disputes between the customer and the distribution company can be resolved adequately. I have had my case resolved before one of the forums and it was adequately resolved.
5.
. Central Bank of Nigeria: One of the core functions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as enshrined in Section 2 (d) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 is the promotion of a Sound financial system in Nigeria. Implicit in this function is the promotion of the safety and stability of the financial system to among others, engender and sustain public confidence in it.The C.B.N discharges this statutory mandate trough the Financial System Stability Directorate.
In furtherance of its statutory responsibility to promote confidence in the financial system, the C.B.N over the years implemented a measure of consumer protection mainly in the form of customer complaint management. While the arrangement served to protect the rights of consumers of financial products and services, it was limited in scope as it did not address the poor level of financial literacy of some consumer in Nigeria.
On the 7th of November, 2016, the Central Bank of Nigeria released the Consumer Protection Framework aimed at enhancing consumer confidence in the financial services industry and promoting financial stability, growth and innovation among operators.
The framework further aims to protect customer's assets, ensure timely complaints handling and dispute resolution as well as ensure that financial services operators put in place effective consumer risk management framework.
The framework also seeks to empower consumers to make informed decisions; promote professionalism and ethics and outline the rights and responsibilities of consumers.
The Consumer Protection framework came at a time of growing concerns over bank's alleged unethical conducts towards consumers, particularly in the areas of arbitrary bank charges.
Under the 2016 Framework, bank consumers and other consumers are allowed to engage in banking transactions with their preferred financial institutions. They also have the right to terminate contracts, change or switch financial institutions and or services subject to contractual terms.
I hope you now know where to go to if your consumer rights have been or is likely to be infringed? Please feel free to like, share and post a comment.
Have a lovely day and thank you.
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