Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Wednesday in Lagos inaugurated
a 12-member board of the state’s Consumer Protection Agency, urging
them to hit the ground running and end sharp practices among
retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers.
Ambode said the establishment of the agency became imperative in view
of the fact that the state, with its huge population, provides the
largest commercial market in Africa with the highest reported cases of
daily infractions on consumers’ rights.
“I resolve to ensure that consumers get value for money spent on goods
and services.
” The agency is therefore meant to complement our reform on the ease
of doing business, especially as it affects the development of the
industrial, commercial and consumer satisfaction value chain,” he
said.
Ambode said that his administration had taken another giant stride
toward guaranteeing the welfare of residents on a sustainable basis
with the inauguration of the board.
“It is a strong demonstration of our commitment to the protection of
the rights of consumers and the promotion of consumers’ satisfaction
in the state,” he said.
The governor said that the agency would be an effective service centre
for the protection of the interest of consumers, settlement of
consumer disputes and for other connected purposes as enshrined in the
state’s consumer law.
He urged the board to be dutiful and nurture the agency to become an
institution that would guarantee timely delivery of effective services
to aggrieved consumers in the state.
Ambode said that members were carefully selected both from the private
and public sectors based on their impeccable character and experience
in the subject matter.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Rotimi
Ogunleye, commended the governor for the standardisation and quality
of products and services in the state.
He listed the functions of the agency to include speedy redress of
consumers’ complaints through negotiation, mediation and conciliation.
Ogunleye said it shall advise the government on the means and ways of
eliminating hazardous products.
He said it shall also publish lists of products, the consumption and
sale of which had been banned, restricted or not approved by the
appropriate relevant government agencies, among others.
The Chairman of the board, Mrs Olufunmilola Falana, thanked the
governor for the confidence reposed in the board.
“We will take the bull by the horn and ensure that we do not only
impress the governor, but the teeming consumers in the state,” Falana
said.
Consumers must get value for money – Ambode
