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Council probes Aero, consumer abuse in telecoms sector

By BusinessNews Staff on November 23, 2013

The Consumer Protection Council on Thursday said it had begun an investigation into an alleged maltreatment of some passengers last week by Aero Contractors during a delayed flight.

The move, according to the council, is geared towards seeking a redress for the affected passengers.

About 50 passengers, who had been scheduled to travel on board flight AJ 132 from Abuja to Lagos on Friday, were left stranded at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, and had to stay awake all night as their aircraft could not take off.

The Director-General, CPC, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, while addressing journalists in Abuja, said the council had asked for explanations from the airline.

As the agency saddled with the responsibility to protect consumer rights, she said its interest in the matter was to seek redress for the over 50 passengers, should it be established that their rights were violated.

She said, “CPC’s intervention in the matter is to ensure that consumers are protected, treated fairly, and when violations occur, appropriate redress and remedies are provided in accordance with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority Passengers’ Bill of Rights.”

She also called on all the affected passengers to furnish the council with the relevant information that would help to seek redress for them as stipulated in the NCAA Bill of Rights.

She said, “The council is still calling on all passengers on board the said flight AJ 132 (who have yet to respond to the council’s notice in print and electronic media), or any person(s), who may have relevant information, or may have experienced any loss, or witnessed the event, to provide the council with the following information: name, phone number, flight ticket reference number and the experience on the said flight.”

Atoki stated that the council had devised an action plan that would guide its operations in the next four years.

She added that the agency would also look into cases of consumer abuses in other sectors, particularly the telecommunications sector.

To ensure that consumers are kept abreast of their rights in the market place, she added that the council had set up a Consumer Education Task Force.

She said, “The task force has developed several advocacy messages which will be rolled out in phases, using different channels to reach both literate and illiterate consumers, rural/grass roots and urban consumers. Products and service providers will also be sensitised on their obligations to consumers under the various consumer protection laws in Nigeria.”

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