CPC constitutes task force on consumer rights education

The Consumers Protection Council (CPC) has constituted a task force to educate consumers on their rights.

The council's Director General, Mrs Dupe Atoki, said in Abuja on Friday that the task force would work out short and long term programmes to educate the consumers on their rights and responsibilities.

Atoki described the consumer as the king while the council was the protector, adding that the council was out to protect and promote consumers; interests in the country.

She explained that it was only when consumers knew their rights that they could enforce them by seeking redress for the violations of such rights.

The director general, however, said that complaints against obnoxious practices should be channeled to the council when consumers were not satisfied with the sellers or the manufacturers' responses.

“The campaign programme will lay emphases on consumers knowing their rights and where to complain.

“It has developed several advocacy messages which will be rolled out in phases, using different channels to reach both literate and illiterate consumers in the rural and urban settings.

“A major focus of the advocacy campaign is the sensitisation of consumer rights starting with the aviation, transport, banking and telecommunications sectors.

“The council also intends to publish general consumer education messages aimed at inculcating the habit of checking “best before dates or products expiry dates,''she said.

According to her, the consumers are also expected to demand refunds for expired products and value for their money.

She said the process of settlement with regards to the purchase of bad products was to contact the seller and then the manufacturer if the seller could not resolve the problem.

She said further that if the consumer was not satisfied with the response from the producer, he could file his complaint with the council.