Complaints Commission Receives 388 Cases In Anambra

The Public Complaints Comission in Anambra reeived 388 complaints from persons in private and public organisations on acts of injustice against them in 2010.The Director of the Commission, Mr Emeka Onuzulke, gave the figure in an interview with newsmen in Awka.

Onuzulike said that 206 of the cases had been resolved, while the other complaints would be disposed off this year.

He said that 183 of the complaints were made by serving and retired employees of local government councils, who reported that they were shortchanged in their entitlements.

The director said that complaints were also lodged against 17 banks following fraud committed through their Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), while other complaints were made against companies failing to pay dividends.

“We had to refer some of the complaints to the Police, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Corporate Affairs Commission for appropriate actions.

“Other cases were resolved through mediation, with some of the companies that failed to pay their investors now accepting to pay them instalmentally till the end of January 2011,” Onuzulike said.

On problems facing the commission, he expressed regret that some complainants often abandoned their complaints after lodging them, while some respondents were not willing to respond to the commission’s invitations

The director, therefore, advised complainants to exhaust all avenues before forwarding their complaints to the ombudsman.

Onuzulike also appealed to authorities to show understanding and cooperate with the commission in the interest of industrial harmony.

He said that inadequate manpower, under funding and other constraints militated against the commission’s activities in the state.