The Head of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Lagos Office, Mrs Ngozi Obidike,  has urged consumers of products and services to be conversant with what their rights are.

Obidike gave the advice in Lagos during the Market Awards Nigeria (MAN) Stakeholders Forum.

She said the knowledge of one’s rights would ensure that the person was not taken for a ride by manufacturers of products and providers of services.

According to Obidike, who was represented at the occasion by CPC’s Scientific Officer,  Mrs Adaora Umego, consumers deserve excellent customer services.

“It is not an option or a privilege, but a right,’’ she said.

Obidike said CPC, as a government agency responsible for consumer satisfaction, had been doing a lot in sensitising consumers on defending and protecting their rights.

“A lot have been done, but probably because of the country’s population, this may not be noticeable,” she said.

Obidike said the first point of duty for a consumer to address a problem was to go back to the point where the product was purchased or where the service was rendered.

She said it was when the problem was not solved at the place of purchase that a consumer could contact the council.

“Our redress mechanism takes 30 days, within which a lot of processes are involved.

“We are a mediating council. We don’t allow a case to linger and extend to the court,” the CPC official said.

Speaking also,  the Chairperson, MAN Organising Committee, Mrs Abimbola Ezeaku, called on CPC to intensify efforts at sensitising consumers on demanding for their rights.

“Nigerians are reluctant in insisting on demanding for their rights, since they feel they have been neglected by government,’’ she said.

According to her, consumers feel it is very frustrating to pursue their rights, as people also tend to castigate them.

She said the forum was an avenue to encourage Nigerians to voice out and demand for their rights when they were being violated.