Ogun State House of Assembly has proposed a bill to establish a Consumer Protection Agency. The agency aims to protect consumers from hazardous goods and services, provide a platform for redress against exploitation, and ensure access to complete information about goods and services.
The proposed bill, sponsored by Minority Leader Hon. Lukman Adeleye, seeks to promote and protect consumer rights, including the right to quality, potency, purity, standard, and fair prices.
The agency will also provide a mechanism for settling consumer disputes and addressing unfair trade practices.
According to Hon. Adeleye, the bill was aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of consumers, which included the right to complete information about inequality, quality, potency, purity, standard, and prices of goods and services, as well as protection against unfair trade practices.
He added that consumers had the right to redress against unscrupulous exploitation, assuring that when operational, the bill would enable the State Government to put in place necessary machinery to protect the rights and interest of consumers in the State.
Ogun Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide, while declaring open the stakeholders’ forum at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, assured stakeholders that the bill will be extensively debated and fine-tuned to ensure its effectiveness.
He noted that the enormous responsibility to protect consumers against hazardous goods and services cannot be overemphasized, hence the need for the bill.
The Speaker also informed the stakeholders that the bill has been extensively debated at the plenary session held on the floor of the Hallowed Chamber, and the House is committed to supporting the present administration in its mission to improve the living standards of its citizens through appropriate legislation.
The stakeholders commended the State lawmakers for initiating the bill, saying it would go a long way in promoting the health and overall wellbeing of consumers in the State.
When operational, the agency will protect the people against marketing of goods and services that are hazardous to lives, thus protecting the wellbeing of the society.
Stakeholders, including representatives from the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (Comrade Yinka Folarin), Community Education and Advancement of Peace Initiatives (Alhaji Sina Adefolahan), Director from the Federal Character Commission (Mr. Ola Ayeni), Dr. Olatunde Oluwadola, Mr. Ola Animashaun, and Director of Legislative Drafting in the State Ministry of Justice (Barr. James Mafe), gathered at a public hearing to discuss the bill.
