The consumer protection law of Lagos State was appraised at the 16th Chief Gabriel Oliyide Sodipo Memorial lecture recently in Lagos. Senior Correspondent, JUDE KENNETH, reports.
The Department of Citizens’ Rights under the Lagos State Government Ministry of Justice has resolved over 600 complaints on behalf of indigent citizens who have been victims of consumer rights. Interestingly, in all the cases, compensations have been paid to the victims. This information was made known by Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, in his keynote address with the topic ‘An Appraisal of the Consumer Protection Laws of Lagos State’.
Ipaye said the state Consumer Protection Law signed by the governor on March 10, 2014, also established the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, adding that the agency’s objectives include promoting and protecting rights of consumers, including the right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life, and right to be heard and assured that the interest of consumers would receive due consideration.
Stating the provision of the law, Ipaye said any person found guilty under the law shall be liable on first conviction to a fine of N500,000 or three months imprisonment, while subsequent conviction attracts a fine of N750,000 or six months imprisonment.
He pointed out that the Department of Citizens’ Rights engaged in several campaigns and other activities that may lead to increase in public consumer awareness and enlightenment, in relation to consumer protection and welfare.
The attorney-general emphasised the dire need to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the law. “A law that is not enforced is nothing but a lion in gilded cage which can only roar but cannot attack.”
He further stressed that “enforcement is a veritable index for measuring the effectiveness of the law”.
Ipaye reiterated the state government’s commitment in ensuring that rights of Lagosians are protected, and appealed for the support and cooperation of the citizens to achieve the objectives of the law.
“As stakeholders in this project, we cannot afford to be spectators in our own country. The time has now come for us to prevent the circulation of any product which constitutes imminent public hazard, enforce and protect the right to consumers, or seek relief or compensation for injured consumers where negotiation, conciliation and mediation fail,” Ipaye added.
In her presentation, the President, Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), Ms Sola Salako, said the judiciary is not well enlightened on consumer issues. Quoting former United States President, John Kennedy, Salako said: “Consumers, by definition, includes us all. They are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. Yet they are the only group whose views are often not heard.”
She recalled the address by President Kennedy to the U.S. Congress in 1962 on the Bill of Consumer Rights, which was later adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 with the ratification of the UN guidelines on Consumer Protection, which was amended and expanded in 1999.
According to Salako, in tune with the UN guidelines on consumer protection, consumers all over the world should be guaranteed physical safety of life and property, promotion and protection of economic interests, standards for the safety and quality of goods and services, and distribution of facilities for essential goods and services.
Others include measures enabling consumers to obtain redress, education, information and enlightenment; measures to provide access to basic needs of like food, water, healthcare, education, shelter among others; and promotion of sustainable consumption and environmental safety.
Speaking on domestication of consumer protection in Nigeria, the CAFON president said that three things that should be specifically determined are the policy, implementation and impact.
Indices, according to her, show that the policy on basic needs of consumers, their implementation and impact are higher than consumers’ safety, economic interest and standards. Consumers, however, have right to safety; that is protection from hazardous goods, against products, production processes and services that are hazardous to health and life.
She expressed that consumers have right to be informed, that is, availability of information requiring the consumer to weigh alternatives, protection from false, dishonest and misleading claims, especially in advertising and labelling of products.
Consumers have right to choose; that is, availability of competing goods and services which offer alternative in terms of price, quality or service; ability to select from a range of products and services offered at competitive prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality.
Speaking on the rights of consumers to be heard, she said that government has failed woefully on its assurance that it will act with sympathy and dispatch through statutes and simple expeditious administrative procedures.
Government should assure that consumers’ interests will be represented in the making and execution of government policy and in the development of product and services, she said.
On the right of consumers to the satisfaction of basic needs, Salako said that consumers should be guaranteed, as a customer to basic, essential goods and services such as adequate food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, public utilities and sanitation.
She added that consumers have right of receiving a fair settlement of just claims, assurance of compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services. She cited the assurance of the three Rs – Repair, Replace or Refund – for unsatisfactory goods or services, and, however, said that these rights are statutory, though there is no law to back them.
On the right to consumer education, Salako said the consumer needs an explanation or information on how the product works, or benefits derivable from services. She charged the government to give enough information on goods and services, create awareness on basic consumer rights and responsibilities and how to act on them.
Not only that consumers enjoy protection rights, they equally have responsibilities to march with their rights. Salako highlighted some of the consumer responsibilities as critical awareness. In this case, consumers are expected to ask questions or make inquiries before taking decision.
Another responsibility is involvement or action of the consumer. The consumer should be assertive and act to ensure that he or she gets a fair deal.
Social responsibility: The consumer should be sensitive to the impact of their decisions on other citizens, especially the disadvantaged.
Ecological responsibility: They should be concerned about the impact of their consumption pattern on the environment.
Solidarity: Consumer pressure groups are formed to influence decisions that affect the consumers.
