Seeking Redress Through PCC

By most accounts, the Nigerian democracy is gradually yielding dividends across all strata of the nation’s economy. Observers note that in spite of occasional hiccups, sectors such as oil and gas, communications, agriculture, transportation and even the media industry have been experiencing a positive turn around under the current democratic setting.

For instance, a lawyer, Mr. Habeeb Lawal notes that the evolving democratic culture in the country has appreciably reduced instances of abuse of power.

“With democracy, citizens are now free to speak out on any issue,”, Lawal says, stressing that the current state of freedom has even affected the country’s judiciary as judges are now enjoying greater latitude to dispense justice without fear.

However, analysts say that one of the most remarkable dividends of democracy is the restoration of order, fairness and good service delivery across the nation’s public and private sectors.

One major institutional vehicle used in tackling the menace of administrative injustice in Nigeria today is the Public Complaints Commission (PCC). Observers note the rising patronage of the commission by the citizens for the redress of their assorted grievances is paving way for justice.

The feats recorded by the PCC in curbing social and administrative injustices have galvanized the citizens to look up to the commission for solutions to their grievances.

In the last two years, the PCC has received about 51,000 petitions on alleged injustices while resolving about 32,457 of the cases.

Mr. Eteng Otu, the National Secretary of the PCC, says that the petitions on unjust conducts, punitive, exploitative and unlawful termination of appointments, as well as other negative tendencies against helpless citizens, were received from aggrieved citizens seeking redress.

One of such complaints was received from a 34-year-old woman, Mrs Rhoda Eugine, who was allegedly defrauded of N6,000 through the ATM machine of her bank. As at the time she was swindled, Eugine did not possess an ATM card for her bank account.

“It was very painful to Mrs Eugine because the incident happened at a time when N6,000 was very much valuable to her. The lady said that she went to the bank to withdraw some money, only to find her account in red,” an official of the PCC says.

The official, who preferred anonymity, says that Eugine promptly lodged a complaint with the bank’s customer care unit but to no avail.

Perturbed by the seeming indifference of the bank to her plight, Eugine resolved to lodge a complaint with the PCC and according to the official, Eugine’s complaint received the commission’s prompt attention “as if we were dealing with a case involving a fraud of N6 million.

“Within few weeks of our intervention, the bank apologized and credited her account with the amount,” he says.

Another recent case that received the quick intervention of the PCC was the one  involving a civil servant, who bought a property under the recent monetization programme of the Federal Government.

In a clandestine manner, the civil servant’s ownership right to the property was revoked, while the mortgage institution through which she paid for the house, wrote to inform her that the money had been refunded, as the property had been reclassified “Not for Sale”.

The woman sought the assistance of a legal firm and the firm aided her in forwarding a petition to the PCC, which promptly swung into action.

The case was thoroughly investigated by the PCC’s operatives who found that the complainant was “unduly oppressed by a power-drunk officer”, who connived with the mortgage institution to revoke her ownership of the house, just because the civil servant refused to accommodate a relative of her boss.

It was learnt that “The commission recommended some punitive measures for the erring officials, while the woman regained the possession of the building.”

The recommendation of punitive measures and sanctions, according to Mr. Ewa Udu of the Legal and Investigations Unit of the PCC, is in line with the provisions of the Act establishing the PCC, which empowers the commission to do so whenever it is necessary.

The list of PCC grievance redressal activities appears endless. Under the current democratic dispensation, many citizens, including corporate bodies, who feel exploited, cheated or duped by individuals, government officials or corporate organizations now prefer to take their case to the PCC.

The less-privileged members of the society are now becoming more conscious of the grievance-redress potential of the national ombudsman.

Mrs Wunmi Adetoye, a public servant whose appointment was restored after a wrongful dismissal, urged the Federal Government to fund the PCC adequately so as to enable it  discharge its functions without any encumbrances.

“The PCC is an agency that takes care of the masses,” Adetonye says, adding, however, that many people are still suffering from various forms of injustice out there”.

Adetoye urges the citizens to avail themselves of the services of the PCC which, she notes, are “free and very effective”.

She, nonetheless, advocates the strengthening of the commission’s power to enforce its recommendations and sanctions.

Mr. Ibrahim Sanusi, a senior officer in one of the government agencies in Abuja, is full of praises for the PCC for its roles in securing his reinstatement after a wrongful termination of his appointment.

Although the reinstatement battle lasted about two years, the wrongfully dismissed officer laughed last after the determination of his case, the PCC. Sanusi, however, wants the Federal Government to review the Act establishing the commission to provide for distinctive powers to enforce its recommendations and sanctions, while “Government agencies and departments must be made to comply with recommendations of the PCC within a given time-frame”.

A lawyer, Mr. Richard Oluyode, says that the PCC should operate under the supervision and control of the National Assembly, adding that such practice is obtainable in some countries, as it enhances the functions and effectiveness of the ombudsman.

“The placing of the PCC under the control of the National Assembly will give the commission an aura of independence and this will invariably enhance its service delivery,” he says.

A businessman, Sir Peter Nzeribe, whose wife was a beneficiary of PCC’s services after having a rough deal in one of the government agencies, urges the government to properly fund the PCC and give it all the wherewithal it requires to function optimally.

“In the current democratic setting, an agency like the PCC is a tonic for good governance. It is supposed to play pivotal roles in democratic governance, as it remains the easiest channel of seeking redress for grievances, particularly within the public service and the private sector,’ says Mrs Sumbo Folorunsho, a retired journalist.

Folorunsho stresses the need to ensure increased funding for the PCC, saying “Funds expended to promote the people’s happiness and minimize injustice as well as oppression are well-spent. I think such money is by all means, well-spent.”

The PCC’s National Secretary, Mr. Otu concedes that the greatest challenges facing the commission include those relating to funding, manpower development and infrastructural growth.

“Investigation is capital intensive activity and with the volume of complaints coming into our offices across the country, we certainly need a big boost in our budgetary allocation to cope and bring smiles to the faces of Nigerians who are cheated and aggrieved,” he says.

Otu attributes the increasing patronage of PCC to the commission’s public enlightenment programmes via the mass media, including phone-in radio programmes, the PR-WIRE Service of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), as encouraged by the democratic climate.

According to him, the PCC is being repositioned to ensure that complainants obtain redress for their grievances within the shortest time, adding that plans are also underway to strengthen the report-writing and investigative skills of PCC officials.

Observers, however, say that tangible efforts should be made to strengthen agencies, whose functions are aimed at enhancing social justice, boosting societal contentment and giving the citizens a real sense of belonging and relevance.

Lawal writes for the News Agency of Nigeria.

Biola Lawal