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CONTACT US
25 Aguyi Ironsi Street,
Maitama,
Abuja, Nigeria
0700 342 5722
info@pcc.org.ng
ABOUT THEM
Promoting Social Justice Through Public Complaints Commission
BY SUNDAY EGEDE
ESTABLISHED by Decree 31 of 1975 by the late General Murtala Mohammed’s administration and amended by Decree No. 21 of 1979, the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) which is Nigeria’s Ombudsman institution has been incorporated into the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) as the Public Complaints Commission Act, CAP. P.37, LFN, 2004. The Public Complaints Commission Act is, also entrenched under Section 315, Sub-section 5(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The main aim of the PCC is to provide social justice for the individual citizen or resident in Nigeria without which, there can hardly be genuine peace and stability. The Commission was, also, established to address and redress complaints of or observed cases of social and administrative injustices arising from bureaucratic errors, omissions or abuses by officials of government or limited liability companies in Nigeria.
Delta State office of the Commission which was established in 1993 had since been operating without a full time Commissioner until May 14, 2012 when Sir Mathias Eto resumed duty at the Commission’s state headquarters in Asaba following the inauguration of the commissioners for the PCC by the National Assembly at Abuja.
By the nature of the functions of the Commission, the Act establishing it (the PCC) vested the authority of the Commission on the Commissioners and the absence of the Commissioners for the Commission nationwide for a period of 13 years greatly diminished the status and effect of the Commission. Consequent upon this development, the need to re-launch the Commission for proper service delivery has obviously become inevitable.
Speaking recently during an interactive session in Asaba, the PCC Commissioner in the state, Sir Mathias Eto said the Commission’s services are readily available and easily accessible to all comers and at no cost at all and at a very short period of time. To be able to achieve the set aims, Eto said, the Commission has the mandate to investtgate and conduct researches in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), companies and officials of these bodies.
He disclosed that the PCC has the mandate to have access to all information; to make public reports; manate to investigate administrative procedures of any court of law in Nigeria; mandate to report crimes; manate to report any erring officer for disciplinary action and manate to prosecute offenders of the Act among others
According to him, the mandate of the Commission is created in such a way that the citizens, especially those at the grassroots of the society are the highest beneficiaries as they get justice without any cost. To this end, he said, the Commission’s services are readily available and easily accessible to all comers, adding that the Commission, for the time being, has four zonal offices located in the three senatorial districts of the state. “We have our zonal offices in Warri, Ughelli and Agbor, respectively, as well as the new office that we are just opening at Oleh”, he said, pointing out that all the zonal offices of the Commission are located in the various local government council secretariat of the four local government councils.
Eto added that before a complaint could be brought to the Commission, the complainant must have exhausted all the avenues open to him/her by law to seek redress in his/her establishment without success, pointing out that all complaints to the Commission must state clearly in writing, the injustices complained about, with supporting documents to justify the claims.
“The complaint must in addition, include the name and address of the complainant; name and address of the person or institution complained against (respondent); telephone numbers of both the complainant and the respondent if available; the complaint and supporting documents must be in duplicate (two copies) and the complaint must be duly signed by the complainant”, the PCC Commissioner added.
Eto said that the PCC has received a total of 1,873 complaints from 1993, when the commission’s office was opened in Delta State, till date, adding that it (the commission) had successfully resolved 1,177 complaints out of the 1,873 leaving 96 cases pending. He stated that the commission receive a total of 255 cases in 2012 alone, out of which, he said, 201 cases had been resolved successfully leaving a total of 51 cases pending.
The above figures of complaints, according to him, is a clear indication that the public had not utilized the service of the commission to the fullest, either because they do not know that the commission exists or that they do not know the services that the commission renders to the common man.
“It is as a result of this development that this interactive session was organized to solicit the co-operation and support of the mass media (print and electronic) to help inform and enlighten the public on the mandate of the PCC towards the enhancement of peace and justice at no cost in our society”, the Commissioner added.
MAKING A COMPLAINT
Receiving substandard goods or sub-par services is unfortunately something which every customer will have to go through at some point in time. Now, while the law in Nigeria might not be able to prevent it from happening, it can however provide recourse for you and a way to air your grievance and potentially get compensated whenever this occurs.
In Nigeria, there is a specific body that has been set up to help consumers deal with issues where companies have either provided poor service or they have sold substandard goods to the consumer. This organization is the Consumer Protection Council – CPC.
The CPC is an agency of the Government under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment. It commenced operations in Nigeria in 1999. The CPC has 5 primary functions –
- To inform consumers about their rights
- To eliminate hazardous products from the market and ensure that products and services comply with required standards/specifications
- To issue guidelines and regulations to producers of goods and services
- To prosecute offenders when and where necessary
- To provide redress to consumer complaints
So, all in all, the CPC is a pretty powerful agency, it is in fact the most powerful consumer redress and monitoring agency in Nigeria.
What things can you report to the CPC
The answer to this is – almost any and everything which is related to a product or service which you have paid for. Some industries have certain specific redress mechanisms, for instance in the Banking industry, complaints against banks should be the directed to the Central Bank of Nigeria. However, by and large the CPC is a catch all for most products and services.
So, if you think a company has acted unfairly toward you, you may report the company to the CPC. Examples of things you can report include:
- Instances when you were misled or tricked into buying a product or service
- Instances where you have been sold fake or substandard products
- Instances where you have received a poor level of service
How to report a complaint to the CPC
The CPC has set up an online form for consumers who want to make a complaint about a company. The information which you will have to provide are:
- Name of person making the complaint
- Contact Address
- Contact details – Mobile number and email address
- Name of the company you are complaining about
- Address of the company/branch you visited
- Contact details of the company
- Receipt No. of Product/Service (if you have one)
- Brief explanation of your complaint
- Brief explanation of the outcome you want (e.g. you want a refund, you want to exchange goods etc.)
You may complete the online complaint form here – CPC Online Complaint Form. If you are not comfortable completing an online form, and would need to talk the complaint through first, then the CPC has dedicated customer complaint lines which you can call. You may contact them on 08056002020, 08056003030, or by email on : contact@cpc.gov.ng
What action will CPC take
The CPC will decide whether or not to investigate your complaint. If they do, they might contact you for more information or to back up your complaint with additional evidence.
The CPC may ask the company to refund any sums which you have paid for the product/service, replace ay defective goods with new ones, or may ask the company to pay compensation to the consumer for the hardship which he/she has had to endure.
So, next time you suffer from the shoddy service or substandard products provided by a company, do not be a statistic, take action by engaging the CPC to fight for your rights…and by the way, in case we failed to mention it…using the CPC is completely FREE!
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We hope you have found this information helpful. Please note that this information is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. No lawyer-client relationship is formed nor should any such relationship be implied. This answer is not intended to substitute for the advice of a qualified lawyer. If you require legal advice, please consult with a qualified lawyer.