Enugu Assembly to establish Consumer Protection Committee

The Enugu State House of Assembly says it will establish the Enugu State Consumer Protection Committee (ESCPC) to ensure that service providers in the state deliver quality services to the residents of the state.
Chief Paul Nnajiofor, the member representing Nkanu East constituency, said this on Wednesday at a one-day public hearing on the need to establish the Committee at the Assembly Complex.
The legislator, who had at an earlier plenary moved the motion for the committee, stated that the assembly had vowed to protect consumers against extortion through establishment of the Committee.
He pointed out that the motion on the establishment of the committee, which was presented at the floor of the House on October 10, was as a result of agitations and complaints of poor services from representatives of the public.
While condemning incessant harassments and intimidation faced by consumers in the hands of service providers, the lawmakers noted that the motion was adopted to ensure that consumers did not take laws into their hands.
He stated that it was also to avoid breakdown of law and order in the state.
Declaring the event open, Speaker of the House, Chief Edward Ubosi, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Uche Ugwu, said that ESCPC, when established, would go a long way to address grievances of consumers in the state.
The speaker noted that the public hearing was crucial in harnessing the contribution of critical stakeholders in establishing the committee, which according to him will further protect consumers against unfair services.
In his lead paper presentation, a lecturer at the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus (UNEC), Mr Victor Ukwueze, said that it was the responsibility of the government to protect consumers through legislation.
Ukwueze advocated among other things that the state government should set up consumer court that would resolve issue between consumers and service providers using alternative dispute resolution (ADR), mechanism.
Another paper presenter, Mr Crownwell Chibuzor, while commending the lawmakers for the public hearing `which is apt’, urged them to ensure that ESCPC was empowered to discipline erring service providers in the state.
In her reaction, a manufacturer, Mrs Ifeoma Ezeaso, pleaded with Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), to improve its service to electricity consumers in order to boost commercial activities in the South East region.