Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has concluded plans to organise a special world press conference to mark this year’s edition of the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) in line with its consumer centric regulatory approach.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, will address the world press conference virtually on March 15, 2021 from the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
This year’s WCRD global theme, “Tackling Plastic Pollution”, is aimed at raising awareness and engaging consumers globally to adopt and promote more sustainable practices which will also focus on the central role that consumer advocates, governments and businesses can play in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis.
Consistent with the theme, the EVC will use the world press conference to present NCC’s initiatives on electronic waste (e-waste) management and other hazards in the country.
During the press conference, he will also spotlight the Commission’s initiatives in ensuring accessible, affordable, and available telecoms services to Nigerian telecom consumers while delving into other initiatives through which the Commission protects, informs, and empowers the consumers.
The highlight of the press conference will be the launching of the NCC Consumer Handbook, a document which provides salient information on the rights and privileges of the consumers and how the consumer can seek redress when their rights are violated by service providers or any stakeholder in the ecosystem.
It will be recalled that the Commission declared 2017 as the ‘Year of the Consumer’ to underscore its focus on the primary place of subscribers of telecommunications services in its regulatory agenda. The year was dedicated to spotlight the consumer not only as a key stakeholder but indeed the most important figure in the telecommunications ecosystem.
With over 200 million mobile voice subscribers and over 150 million Internet users in the country, the Commission has, over the years, demonstrated its commitment towards protecting telecom consumers, making it one of the most consumer-centric public institutions in the country.
The WCRD is celebrated on March 15 every year with the aim of creating global awareness on consumer rights and needs. The WCRD was first celebrated in 1983 and has become an important annual occasion for mobilising citizen actions and solidarity within the international consumer movement.
The Day provides an opportunity to promote the basic rights of all consumers, demand that those rights are respected, and protect them against market abuses and social injustices.