Group Moves To Tackle Consumer Rights Abuses

Abuja-based human rights group, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), has established an online community to tackle the rising incidence of consumer rights violations in the country.
Known as Consumer Watch, the community will serve as a platform for Nigerians to share information on beneficial and harmful products and services in the country.
The Executive Director of CASER, Mr Frank Tietie, said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
He said the move was in line with the provisions of Section 2(h) of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Act.
The section empowers CPC to encourage the formation of voluntary consumer groups or associations for the promotion of consumers’ well-being.
Tietie said that Consumer Watch would “explore ways of seeking redress” against substandard products and poor services in the country.
“The goal of the platform is to ensure value for money and observation of proper respect for all customers/consumers, especially citizens of Nigeria,” he explained., adding that the community exists on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,Telegraph and Whatsapp.
The Twitter handle and Facebook address are @ConsumerWatch5 and https://www.facebook.com/Consumer-Watch-371530529872146 respectively.
Interested participants on Whatsapp and Telegram can join through the GSM number, 08036286435.
Meanwhile, Nigerian consumers have decried current drop in the quality of some products, especially locally made ones, despite rising inflation.
Some of them, who expressed their feelings on Facebook, called on relevant authorities to intervene and sanction erring producers.
“There is this toilet soap that I use. I renewed my stock recently and discovered that the tablet is getting smaller, yet the price has risen over 100 per cent in the last five months.
“I see it shrinking further to the size of a vitamin capsule in the next few months if nothing is done about it,” one Harrison Eyovwire wrote on Facebook.
The post drew a number of comments from his friends, who expressed similar concerns.
“That is what we see in Nigeria. Very soon, when you buy some products and open them, what you will see is, “efforts noted, try again later”, Mrs Rosemary Nwaebuni, a Delta-based journalist commented.
One Festus Fifen said he had also noticed a similar thing with some brands of sliced bread “which the prices have risen to N400 from N250 months ago”.
“Funny enough, the standard weight is stated in their packs, but we are too busy or uninformed to check whether the contents measure up,” he said.
Another Facebook user by the name, Governor Erhieyovwe fingered manufacturers of canned sardine and sausage rolls.
“Before now, there were three ‘fishes’ in a can of sardine, but it has been reduced two and the price is up by over 100 per cent.
“Even a particular brand of sausage roll (name withheld) that used to be 30cm long is now 15cm, though the price has changed,” he said.