Abuja – The Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs Dupe Atoki, on Wednesday called for deeper collaboration with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to protect the rights and life of Nigerians.
Atoki made the call when she visited the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Boboye Oyeyemi, saying the council could not work in isolation.
“Our mandates somehow are interrelated and when we work together Nigerians are better for it,’’ she said, adding that this necessitated the visit.
Atoki said the council was concerned about the state of some commercial vehicles which often broke down and did not give the commensurate comfort to consumers.
She also said that when passengers were `sandwiched’ in vehicles, it resulted in great discomfort and could lead to wear and tear of the vehicle, especially the tyres.
She said, “We want to work with you to see how we can sensitise passengers to what to do and look out for when they board such vehicles.’’
Atoki urged the FRSC to provide mobile lines for passengers to lodge complaint about the quality of vehicles and unruly behaviour of drivers.
She advised the commission to take urgent steps to address the issuance of fake driver licence as those who obtained such document might not be qualified to obtain it.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
Atoki said the CPC had a mandate to ensure that the welfare of Nigerians was enhanced.
“ We will ensure that they get value for their money and not further impoverished by the poor service and standards of products.
“ We provide redress and educate consumers about their rights, eliminate unwholesome products from the market and compel producers to comply with quality of products,’’ she said.
Responding, Oyeyemi said the CPC had been one of FRSC’s key stakeholders and that the visit would renew the existing bond between the two organisations.
“ CPC has been part of most of the things we have been doing, especially advocacy of driver licence and number plates and this visit is more of a renewal between us.
Oyeyemi urged the council to join the FRSC on the issue of child restraint campaign, as well as sensitising motorists to the disadvantages of fake licences.
He said while it took two weeks to process genuine driver’s licence which cost only N6, 350, he wondered why some people paid N20,000 for the fake document.
Oyeyemi also said the commission would give priority attention to speed limit device expected to begin in April 2016, adding that if speed was eliminated there would be reduction in road traffic accident.
He said speed limit violation was one of the major causes of accident in the country. (NAN)
