The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission(FCCPC) have collaborated to develop Consumer Protection Regime (CPR) guidelines to ensure seamless port operations without infringement of rights.
Mr Emmanuel Jime, Executive Secretary, NSC, said this at the sensitisation programme for stakeholders on consumer rights and responsibilities in the port and shipping sector, held in Lagos on Tuesday.
Jime, represented by Mrs Adaku Okam, Director, Human Resources Management Department, NSC, said they would ascertain the challenges of various regulated service providers, users and propose solutions that may form the inputs for developing guidelines in CPR.
According to Jime, the CPR guidelines will help to achieve seamless operations with little or no infringements of rights.
“The two organisations will work together, share information, carrying out investigations and enforcement on issues that one agency may not adequately handle alone.
“We will use the platform to disseminate sector-based information on the subject, provide avenue for stakeholders to give feedbacks on infringements of rights and possible areas that need improvement if necessary,” he said.
Jime noted that the collaboration started on Jan. 20, 2022 at the FCCPC headquarters, where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed.
He added that the MoU was aimed at bringing sanity in the conduct of shipping and ports business, to ensure harmony, fair trade practices and efficiency in the sector.
“The NSC/FCCPC MoU is set to achieve an effective collaboration in the protection of providers and consumers of shipping and ports services with a view to establishing a CPR in the shipping and ports sector in Nigeria.
“This cooperation and collaboration, in the discharge of our respective functions will ensure encouragement of competition and consumer protection, prosecution of erring service providers and users, related matters.
“It will ensure sharing of information and intelligence, consumer education and awareness as well as enforcement and compliance,” he said.
He noted that the CPR when instituted would address infringements by service providers and users in the industry as well as enthrone sanity and fair-trade practices in the system.
The council boss said that they would ensure that all stakeholders are carried along in the process of developing the CPR so as to build trust and confidence before rolling out the scheme.
“We are aware the shipping industry comprises of various players who in the course of daily transactions are bound to trample and infringe on each other’s rights.
“These players have rights that are spelt out in the FCCPC Act to include, among others: right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, standards and charges/rates of services as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices.
“The right to be assured wherever possible, access to variety of services at competitive prices, right to seek redress against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers of shipping services and others,” he said.
Jime said that the behavior in the conduct of shipping and ports business in Nigeria was expected to change when the CPR becomes fully operational.
Also, Mr Babatunde Irukera, Executive Vice Chairman, FCCPC, said that what is common with a forwarder, shipper, member of shippers council and FCCPC is the welfare of consumers.
According to Irukera, represented by Mr Tam Tamunokobia, Director, Legal Services FCCPC, noted that consumers should always be considered first in all transactions.
“In everything we do, the consumers should be first. Whether at the port, at the point of entering into agreement, we must ensure that the consumer is protected.
“We need to push the frontiers of our cooperation and collaboration to a higher level and I commend the council for collaborating with us.
“We need to collaborate, effectively. The council’s Act and ours, in both ways, collaboration is highlighted. Where there is effective collaboration, we find that there is no room for fighting for areas or the person in charge of a place,” he said.
