The Nation Newspaper

Tag: consumer

  • What is Consumer Strategy?

    This is a column that promises to discuss, mould and shape societal values, seeks to protect the interests of consumers, citizens and other broader relevant topics, such as decadence of educational systems, unemployable job seekers, trading ethics et al under the column, ‘TRUE VALUE 360’. It is an interactive column as suggestions, complaints; day to day experiences are welcome.

    This week’s edition is Consumer Strategy:

    It is the psychology of why customers would select one brand over another. Consumer strategy looks at the consumer’s environment and how that may be an influence. It also looks at how customers behave when shopping and making shopping decisions. In our environment where consumers have not been protected in the past decades; and the drive to make sales override consumers satisfaction, consumer behavior will likely be influenced by other factors such as scale of preference and product positioning. For example, storeowners, just by changing where a product is positioned in the store will attract more sales.

    Consumer strategy uses market research tools. The goal is to give consumers what they want, not what brands think they want, this is where research comes in.

    Research is distinguished between primary and secondary research. Primary research is research that the marketing team designs and conducts. The Pepsi Challenge was an example of primary research. Marketers were trying to find out if consumers preferred sweeter drinks like Pepsi to tarter drinks like Coke. Secondary research is using research what already exists, such as how many elderly people live in a certain area. That information is available already; a serious research marketer just needs to gain access to it.

    As consumers, what will make us stick to a brand more than its competitors? What will make us loyal to a brand?

    Good Quality

    Accessibility

    Reward for loyalty

    Compensation for damage or poor quality

    Affordability as in value for money

    Incentives, such as regular promos

    Unfortunately, our local brands never compensate for damage or poor quality and we still get charged for it. What can we do? Ideally, reports with evidence should be made to the appropriate regulatory body, but like we know, the regulatory bodies have been slack so far.

    But with the new wind of change, it’s time to challenge even the regulatory bodies to task and demand performance and citizen’s protection.

     

    Are we helpless? Only if we want to be. What to do? Avoid misleading brands, keep evidence and spread the word to friends and family till we perceive a positive change. You may go further by sending a mail of your complaint to us with evidence. Let us tackle brands who trample on us together. See you next week.

  • Consumer credit hits N848.77b

    Consumer credit hits N848.77b

    The volume of banks’ consumer credit rose to N848.77 billion last December, compared with N809.8 billion at the end of June, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Financial Stability Report has said.

    The report said the figure reflected an increase of 4.81 per cent, compared with 3.49 per cent at the end of the first half of 2014.

    It said as a ratio of total credit to the core private sector, consumer credit constituted 4.88 per cent, compared with 4.49 per cent during the period, adding that the development could be attributed, largely to the impact of the recent decision not to remunerate standing deposits facility (SDF) in excess of N7.5 billion. He said the rising consumer credit could enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission.

    At N18.1 trillion, credit to the private sector (including states, local governments and nonfinancial public enterprises) increased by 12.08 per cent, compared with the growth of 4.88 per cent recorded at the end of June last year. The growth in private sector credit reflected, largely, the 13.00 per cent rise in claims on the core private sector.

    “The impressive growth in credit to the private sector (especially the core private sector) reflected the impact of various policies of the Bank to enhance the lending capacity of banks and encourage increased lending to the productive sector vis-à-vis the government sector. The upward trend in the amount of credit extended to the private sector continued during the second half of 2014. Available data indicated that total credit to the various sectors of the economy grew significantly by 16.62 per cent to N12.6 trillion, compared with 7.86 and 13.88 per cent growth recorded in the preceding half year and the corresponding period of 2013, respectively,” the report said.

    It said oil and gas continued to attract the highest share of total credit as it accounted for 25.70 per cent, compared with 24.33 per cent in the first half of 2014; the manufacturing sector accounted for 13.15 per cent of the total credit, the same level as in the preceding half year. Agriculture, forestry and fishing category accounted for 3.96 per cent of the total credit, indicating a 0.12 percentage point increase over the 3.84 per cent recorded in the preceding half year.

    Despite the slight improvement in the proportion of credits with medium- and long-term maturities during the second half of 2014, the dominance of short-term maturities in deposits of banks continued to be a major constraint to their capacity to grant long-term credit.

    There is also the challenge that this development might result in liquidity and re-pricing risks, the report said.

    However, continuous implementation of the various policies by the bank to de-risk and encourage lending to the real sector, as well as the curtailment of inflationary pressures to ensure sustained general price stability is expected to further improve medium to long-term lending.

    The structure of bank credits in the second half of 2014 indicated the continued dominance of loans and advances of short-term maturities, although with a slight improvement over the position in the preceding half year.

    Credits maturing within one year accounted for 49.59 per cent, compared with 56.6 per cent at the end of the first half of 2014.

     

  • CPC vows to curb consumer rights abuses

    CPC vows to curb consumer rights abuses

    The Director General, Consumer Protection Council Nigeria (CPC), Dr. Dupe Atoki, has declared that the council will curb consumer rights abuses in the country by forcing the major companies to comply with international standards.

    Noting that the telecoms, aviation, banking and power sectors have the highest level of consumer rights abuses, she said the CPC has adopted major strategies of enforcing consumer rights and ensuring company’s compliance with the council’s enabling laws.

    These strategies, she said, are sectoral intervention, litigation and improving the visibility of the council by using new methods and the redress of consumer complaints. These strategies, she said, are already yielding positive results.

    Speaking at a public lecture organised by the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, the CPC boss said that a successful intervention in the activities of usually the dominant player in a given sector resonates into a bandwagon compliance and block adherence to regulation and best practice.

    Atoki explained that “Sectoral intervention was identified as a major strategy for the evaluation of business operations under the various sectors in order to arrest identified adverse trends and thereby resolve individual complaints in the long run.”

    She explained that this strategy is intended to focus on a sector by undertaking in-depth analysis of consumer complaints and total evaluation of business practices to identify systemic irregularities.

    She noted, albeit happily, at the lecture entitled “The state of consumer rights protection in Nigeria”, that the council has already carried out successful major interventions in the food and beverage and aviation sectors which modified the behaviours of all the other players in those sectors for best practices.

    In order to enforce consumer rights, she said that CPC also has the strategy of criminal prosecution of recalcitrant businesses or litigation to achieve satisfactory redress, which is already paying dividends.

    Acknowledging the low awareness of consumer rights in the country, Mrs. Atoki said that the council was undertaking different measures to ensure increased knowledge of consumer rights and responsibilities.

    These measures, she noted, are hosting of consumer roundtable on phone rights, publication of a compendium of the rights of telecom subscribers, launch of ‘Check the Best Before Date’ campaign.

    Other measures, according to her, are revamping and updating the council’s website on a regular basis, using of social media to interact with consumers and establishing a strong media presence with a view to remaining in the consciousness of consumers.

    Lamenting the wanton gross consumer rights abuses also in sectors such as satellite television, land transport, property, hospitality, food and beverage, home appliances, automobile and electronic commerce, the council’s boss regretted that “while free market is currently operational in Nigeria, all forms of consumer abuse still pervade virtually every sector of the economy denying consumers their rights.

    Highlighting the abuses, she said that in the telecom sector, for instance, “consumers still contend with drop calls, unsolicited texts, calls, poor network, credit wipe off, amongst others, while consumers in the aviation sector experience regular delays and cancellation of flights without notice, damage and loss of baggage without compensation etcetera.”

    In the banking sector, she said consumers experience ATM dispense error cases with prolonged resolution period, POS terminal issues, unexplained debit on consumer accounts. Equally, in the power sector, “consumers complain of outrageous estimated billings, non-provision of transformers, metres, wrongful disconnections and inadequate electricity supply.”

    In the satellite television sector, she regretted that consumers were also struggling with regular disruptions, wrongful connections, poor service delivery and lack of redress for complaints. “Overloading, non refund of money when vehicles breakdown and use of dilapidated vehicles add to the burden of consumers of public transport services,” noted Atoki.

    Similarly, Dr. Dupe Atoki lamented that “In the property sector, developers fail to keep to agreement terms, tie down consumers’ deposits for prolonged period and sometimes deliver substandard houses to consumers.”

    Consumers under the hospitality sector were identified as not free from the abuses as “many hotels fail to live up to their claims/required standard, while vendors of holiday packages do not deliver on promises made.” Food and beverages industry are also guilty, said the DG, as foreign substances in drinks, sale of expired products, adulteration, improper storage, short measure, etcetera are rampant in the sector.

    “Undiscerning consumers go home with substandard home appliances while non adherence to warranty by car dealers, sale of substandard spare parts, unqualified mechanics and ill-equipped workshops result in safety issues and loss of consumers hard earned money,” bemoaned the DG.

    In the electronic commerce, the council’s DG lamented that the infringements of consumers’ rights here were completely unfair and potentially dangerous to the consumer. She said some of these abuses in this sector were unsolicited commercial communications and unfair use of personal information.

    However, while the agency is cognisant of its challenges and having evolved some strategies to deliver on its mandate within available means, Mrs. Atoki still stressed that several factors were militating against the council’s bid to effectively protect the over 160 million consumers across all sectors of the economy whose rights are wantonly abused.

    According to the DG, these factors are “perceived overlapping duties of regulatory agencies, impunity of business-peddling of influence, protection of self-interest by trade associations, lack of consumer awareness and apathy, inadequate funding, inadequate spread, understaffing and dearth of specialised staff, gaps in the CPC Act.”

    Underscoring the point, Atoki said “Market failures violate consumer’s rights and inhibit their welfare in the marketplace. Impunity of businesses, rivalry among regulatory bodies due to seeming overlapping functions and protection of self interest by trade associations are part of the challenges inhibiting the effective protection of Nigerian consumers.”

    Nonetheless, she asserted that genuine businesses must comply with regulations and specified standards for goods and services in the country adding that the political might of the federal government must be available to support the council at all times to put recalcitrant businesses in check.

    She urged regulatory agencies to collaborate with each other in order to foster seamless relationship in the regulation of businesses to ensure effective protection of consumers.

    “The council recognises the need for aggressive consumer awareness campaign. However, consumers should be more aggressive, proactive and disposed to complaining when dissatisfied with a product or service,” adding that mere grumble is not an option.

  • Can renewable energy ignite consumers’ hopes?

    Can renewable energy ignite consumers’ hopes?

    Getting gas to fire the power plants has been a Herculean task. Unreliable supply infrastructure and pipeline vandals have continued to compromise its distribution to various plants. The authorities are, however, looking at renewable energy as an alternative. Will the  diversifying of sources of power supply improve electricity supply? Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA asks.

    It’s an idea whose time has come. The rethink in favour of diversifying sources of power supply to guarantee improved electricity supply to Nigerians and operators in the industrial sector is coming at an auspicious time. The strategy, which seeks to explore alternative power sources such as renewable energy such as coal, solar, wind, and biomass, is coming at a time the excitement and optimism that greeted the unbundling of the sector.

    However, the handover of the sector to private investors has brought agony and frustration to consumers as there has not been any visible improvement in electricity supply more than a year after the sector was privatised. Rather, electricity supply has worsened and tariff gone as high as 100 per cent in  Africa’s most populous and largest economy.

    Although the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has continued to plead with the consumers to be patient, saying that it takes a long time to build power plants. According to him, issues of pipeline vandalism and getting gas to power the plants have been tasking.

    The Minister, who spoke with reporters in Lagos, said: “Vandalism is taking a toll on us. A situation where our own compatriots vandalise the oil and gas pipelines, especially the gas pipelines that supply gas to the power stations, since 70 per cent of all of our power generation is from gas-fired turbines and 30 per cent is from hydro. We have not been doing coal, we have not been doing renewable; we have not been doing biomass, so we really are hamstrung. So, the government is now working on diversifying to make sure that we have a good, robust fuel mix.”

    Noting the need to think out of the box, Nebo disclosed that licences had been issued to investors interested in generating electricity through coal and solar power. According to him, the government was working towards generating 10 per cent of the country’s electricity from coal.

    The Nation learnt that under the plan, government would build coal-fired plants in Enugu, Benue, Kogi and Gombe states. The plan, it was learnt, kicked off about a fortnight ago when the Federal Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with One Nation Energy Platform Ltd. for the production of 500 megawatts (MWs) coal-fired power plant in Enugu.

    Nebo signed for the the government, while the Chairman of the company, Dr. Uzoma Obiyo, signed on behalf of the company. A statement by the Ministry described the agreement as a welcome development for the government’s quest for a robust energy mix that would support the nation’s aspiration for development of the power sector.

    The statement noted that the coal-power project will also provide stable power devoid of challenges of sabotage from vandals. It said citing the coal powered plant in the Enugu area was a welcome development as Ugwuaji, a settlement in Enugu State, houses one of the biggest transmission sub-stations in the country.

    It also described the coal deposit in Nigeria as very clean, and that the processing of the mineral resource for energy delivery would not be a cumbersome process. It further said the Southeast zone alone had enough coal deposits to deliver 5,000 Mw of coal fired power to Nigeria.

    Earlier, the government through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) granted an operating licence to Trombay Power Generation Limited for a 500 MWs power plant to be located at Wajari village on Dadinkowa Road, Yamaltu Local Government Area of Gombe State.

    Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, who handed over the licence to the company in Abuja, noted that coal power plant “is becoming important in the effort to diversify our fuel source.”

    Dangote Group is also investing a whopping $250million in three coal-fired power plants in its cement plants in Obajana, Kogi State, Ibeshe in Ogun State and Gboko, in Benue State. The company, last year, imported its first consignment of coal from South Africa.  Dangote Cement Managing Director, Devacumar Edwin, explained that the decision to look towards coal fired power plants was informed by the worsening situation of power supply caused by continuous drop in gas supply to power generating stations.

    Edwin said: “As you know, the gas and the fuel oil supply situation is going from bad to worse every day and all the manufacturing industries and all the power plants are affected.”

    He added that because of the difficulties the companies that bought the power plants are experiencing as a result of inadequate gas supply, there are fears that they might not be able to settle their obligations to the banks. He said to continue hoping without taking action will amount to watching one’s investments go down the drain.

    “We are trying to be proactive because if we keep slacking, nobody will come to our aid. So as much as we are going to appeal to the government for help, we have made investment so that our business will continue to thrive,” he said, adding that the Group’s investment in coal has created opportunities for the sector and that the move will reduce the company’s cost of production.

    He, however, said the group was looking at exploring the opportunity in the local coal industry as supplies from within the country would be cheaper in the long run. For the group and other investors in coal-powered electricity generation, the local coal industry holds lots of promises. For instance, Nigeria has about 22 coalfields spread over 14 states, including Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kogi,  Kwara, Nassarawa, Ondo and Plateau states. Available geological data suggest that Nigeria’s coal reserves, which can be described as proven and capable of being exploited in commercial quantities are about 639 million tonnes.

    Also, the inferred reserves – resources present, but with a less assured reliability of commercial recoverability – are about 2.75 billion tonnes. Interestingly, Nigeria’s coal, according to experts, is unique because of its low sulphur and ash content. It also has low thermoplastic properties, making it very attractive for power generation.

     

    The imperative of

    renewable energy

     

    At various fora, Nebo said pipeline vandalisation is the major reason for the challenges of power supply in the country. He explained that about 2,300MW was lost in the past few months due to the vandalism of five gas pipelines that supply power to the national grid.

    According to him, the affected pipelines include the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System (ELPS) with a generation capacity of 800MW and the Trans-Forcados pipeline with capacity of 800MW.

    Others are Trans-Niger pipeline with capacity of 500MW, the Alakiri-Onne gas pipeline and Chevron gas plant with capacity of 2,672 MW, which were also affected.

    At the last count, about 20 ruptured pipelines have been identified, all due to sabotage, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The corpoation reported that saboteurs were responsible for the destruction of Escravos gas pipeline in 2013. It also said the Escravos-Warri stretch of the ELPS and the Trans Forcados crude pipeline were also destroyed, adding that investigations by the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) shown the pipelines were punctured. “The cumulative effect of the above interruptions is a real degradation of power supply to Nigerians,” NNPC said.

    However, pipeline vandals are not the only ones wrecking havoc on the nation’s electricity supply. Persistent low water level has also compromised the hydro-power dams. The Minister, however, assured that rehabilitation was ongoing at the Kainji and Shiroro dams to upgrade them.

    Nebo, during a visit to The Nation as part of his tour of media houses, also said the government was thinking of picko-hydro that can be powered by the smallest stream to generate power at least for a little community of people.

    The government has also begun the building of the 700 MW Zungeru dam and will soon begin work on the 3,050 MW Mambilla power plants, both of which have been on the drawing board for decades. At least 17 small and medium hydro power plants are being developed across the country.

    It is expected that when the Kashimbilla power plant is fully functional, it will generate an additional 40 MW, while the Dadinkowa dam will rake in 34 MW.

     

    Solar, biomass to the rescue

     

    Although the Federal Government, The Nation learnt, is planning to add 2,483 MW of electricity to the national grid this year through renewable energy sources, part of it would come from solar. As Nebo pointed out, one of the celebrated milestones in the power sector is the flag-off and commissioning of Operation Light-up Rural Nigeria projects in three rural communities of Abuja, namely Durumi, Shappe and Waru. He said residents in those villages, who hitherto had never seen electricity, marked uninterrupted solar power supply for one year.

    Already, plans have reportedly reached advanced stages to replicate the projects in hundreds of communities across the country, while also encouraging the private sector to key into it for wider spread.

    Similarly, biomass is increasingly becoming attractive as an alternative energy source. According to Nebo, the option would ride on the huge waste generated in major cities across the country such as Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kaduna and Ibadan, among others.

    “We can aggregate these and put more power plants here and there, and feed them directly to the distribution network of the country and that is embedded generation and distributed power,” the Minister explained.

    Another alternative energy source that holds promise is wind energy. For instance, Nigeria has wind plant in Katsina State. However, the project, which is over 97 per cent completed, ran into a hitch following the kidnapping of the French national in charge of the project. But the Minister expressed hope that the project would be inaugurated soon.  He said there was no reason some parts of Nigeria would not benefit from wind energy.

    According to him, Jos in Plateau State and Katsina in Katsina State have a lot of wind velocity to support wind-powered electricity.

     

    Renewable energy policy

     

    For electricity consumers, the renewed hope in renewable energy received more impetus from the National Policy on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. The Minister said Nigeria, which hitherto did not have a renewable energy policy, now boasts a draft policy. The Minister said the policy has been taken to the National Executive Council (NEC) for approval.

    Presenting the Draft National Policy on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at a stakeholders’ workshop in Abuja, Director of the Electrical Inspectorate Services (EIS) in the Federal Ministry of Power, Abayomi Adebisi, said that under the policy, 8,188MW will be achieved with Renewable Energy (RE) by 2020 on a medium term, while the long-term target is on the realisation of 23,134 MW by year 2030.

    Adebisi said RE would contribute by 1.3 percent in the year to the national grid with a corresponding increase of 8 per cent and 16 per cent, between 2020 and 2030. “While large and small hydropower would contribute 2,121 MW and 140 MW to the renewable energy generation this year, it is also expected that solar accounts for 117 MW, with biomass electricity at 12.3 per cent,” he said.

    He also added that the policy development was being facilitated by some partners with a grant from GIZ, a German agency. “We sourced for grants from GIZ, then we pooled over 30 documents from people who had once done something on renewable energy. We got a committee of experts to develop the policy, and the draft was approved by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREE) in May 2013,” Adebisi explained.

  • Rising profile of consumer activation

    Experiential marketing connects consumers with brands via face-to-face engagement and leaves personal memories that enhance high level of brand recall.

    Though with consumers still inundated with traditional advertising platforms, such as Tv, radio, billboards, newspapers and magazines, among other above-the-lines, last year proved to be an embryonic year for experiential marketing as it laid the foundation for the future of the emerging aspect of marketing communication and bonding with consumers.

    In what appeared as a boom last year, the use of consumer activation or what might be termed as brand activations in experiential marketing is already showing a good yield for the emerging marketing communication aspect in 2014. It is estimated that so far over 20,000 experiential marketing activities were implemented in Nigeria.

    After overcoming a piece meal attention from brands handlers, it is swiftly becoming a key tactic in campaigns. From reports, its budget increased by 7.6 per cent in 2013, against economic growth of 1.6 per cent, and it is predicted to skyrocket even further this year.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Oracle Agency, Felix Eiremiokhae, reflects of the rising profile on experiential marketing. “Experiential marketing is the real conversations and meaningful impressions you can count. On the surface, it looks like experiential produces smaller numbers, but experiential is about quality over quantity, and they’re authentic numbers. This is the difference between big data and real data,” he said.

    Also, an experiential marketing expert, Ororo Azemhobor said the emerging marketing tactics could deliver more audience than traditional advertising, “Half a million people could read a newspaper, but does that mean half a million people read the advert inside? No. Traditional has a larger potential reach but experiential gives a realistic impression count based on direct engagements.”

    When building brand activation, experts said experiential marketers must understand that storytelling is key to delivering return on investment for brand owners. “You must have a good story; when you have a good story, you now talk of production,” Azemhobor said.

    For instance, the past three editions of Amstel Malta ShowTime hardly made any impact with storytelling. Consumers’ opinion on the activation generally was poor as many of them wanted the show yanked off even before it began.

    But after understanding the importance of storytelling in experiential marketing, the 2014 edition of the ShowTime appealed to the right audience. “This year’s Amstel Malta ShowTime featured entertainers like Sound Sultan, Phyno, Gordons, and others who took Lagos by storm with superb performances at the finale in the indoor sports hall of the University of Lagos. The entertainers featured in the Lagos edition of the concert drama directed by Ice Nweke, tagged “The Rush” – which fused artistry by ballerinas, singers, actors, fire eaters, jugglers, dancers, rappers, instrumentalists, comedians, et al – told the story of a young man’s journey to success in brilliant theatre,” said a brand analyst.

    With the good story-telling for the activation, a musical star, Sound Sultan, who also served as a judge and mentor on ShowTime this season, said “the experience has been worth every single hype.”

    Amstel Malta Brand Manager, Hannatu Ageni-Yusuf, expressed pleasure at the success of the 2014 edition of ShowTime expressed his delight, “this edition has been the most explosive we’ve ever had and we are very glad as a brand that we decided to do this. We thought of a way to give young talents a better opportunity to showcase them, rather than just compete and walk home with cash prizes”.

  • Consumer market exceptional, says Diageo CEO

    CHIEF Executive Officer of Diageo Plc, Ivan Menezes, has described the Nigerian market as an exceptional and exciting consumer environment which represents a huge opportunity for the world’s leading premium drinks business and other consumer goods.

    He spoke at a dinner organised in his honour by Guinness Nigeria in Lagos.

    Ivan noted that Diageo is confident of the opportunities in the market hence its investment of about $500 million in Guinness Nigeria Plc, an integral part of its business, in the last six years.

    Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine categories.

    “We are extremely confident in the opportunity here, and it is a market you cannot ignore. There are a few challenges in the market right now but we are optimistic about the opportunity and the future we will create here. The fundamentals of the Nigerian economy are very robust, same for the energy of the people. We have been out on the streets of Lagos, visiting top-end bars and trade partners to have a feel of the consumer, and can boldly say that we love the energy, optimism and vibrancy of Nigerians. We are not surprised that some of the hottest trends in music and fashion are coming out of Nigeria. This market represents an exceptional and extremely exciting consumer environment,” he said.

    The Diageo chief added that he was proud of Guinness Nigeria because of its reputation for doing good business. He disclosed that around the world, people ask him about how well Diageo was doing in the Nigerian market without  breaching its compliance agenda.

    “I am most proud of Guinness Nigeria because we do business the right way, recruiting the right talent and ensuring we have a great team. We are a Nigerian company and are grateful to those who have supported us over the years. Guinness Nigeria has been here for decades and we are here for the long haul.”

    Managing Director/Chief Executive, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Seni Adetu,  said: “We are proud and excited at Guinness Nigeria to have Ivan, the global leader of Diageo, our parent company, visit us twice in ten months.

    ‘’His visits and commitment to meeting and celebrating our partners and stakeholders in the banks, distributive trade and regulatory sector is a testament to Diageo’s commitment to the Nigerian market.

    “Diageo enriches almost every aspect of Guinness Nigeria, and we appreciate the privileged status we enjoy as a favourite in a global corporation which has presence in about 180 countries where its brands of alcoholic and non-alcoholic products delight consumers everyday.”

    The event was attended by dignitaries such as the Chief Executive 0fficer (CEO), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),  Oscar  Onyema, CEO, Airtel Nigeria. Segun Ogunsanya; CEO, Nigerian Bottling Company, Ben Langat; CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, Bola Adesola; CEO, Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo;  CEO, UBA, Philip Odozua; Chairman, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside;  and CEO, Vigeo Holdings, Gbolade Osibodu.

  • Consumers want SON returned to Ports

    Some consumers over the weekend in Abuja called on the Federal Government to return the Standards Organisations of Nigeria (SON) to the ports.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the increase in substandard products in the market had made the return of SON operatives imperative at the entry points.

    They said the presence of SON was needed at those points to complement the duties of the other security and regulation agencies.

    Chief Omeya Okoh said the nation’s markets would continued to be inundated with fake and substandard products “because of weak restrictive measures at the sea and air ports”.

    According to him, the withdrawal of SON from the ports is inimical to the fight against substandard goods.

    “It is better to stop those products at the point of entry than deploying measures to find them after they have entered into the market.

    “The current effort of SON at curbing substandard product is, to best of my knowledge, not effective because our markets are flooded with fake goods.

    “I call on the Federal Government to return SON to the borders and ports in order to reduce this menace,’’ he said.

    Mr Patrick Aturu said all agencies responsible for discouraging smuggling and illegal trade must be empowered to perform their duties more effectively.

    “SON has done very well in the past while they were properly deployed. Their withdrawal from those points should be reversed.”

  • A consumer parliament without its soul

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) introduced the Telecoms Consumer Parliament in partial fulfillment of its mandate. But at the parliament’s last sitting in Lagos, NCC changed the rule of the game. It restricted the number of participants to “important stakeholders” in the industry, reports LUCAS AJANAKU.

    For regular participants at the monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP), the 75th edition at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos must have come as a shock. For one, the consumers for which the forum was created to provide succour were nowhere to be found. For another, the venue was elitist and would definitely not be attractive to consumers were they invited.

    Some people explained that the decision of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to hold the event at the venue was to save cost because earlier on, it had launched the Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecommunications Industry.

    In his opening remarks the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah, said the feedbacks from TCP had enhanced the regulatory activities of the Commission, adding that Enforcement Regulation and Quality of Service (QoS) Regulation of 2012 were some of the gains of the parliament.

    He said the forum has been repackaged to limit participation to major stakeholders to enhance robust discussion and rich discussion.

    He lamented that in spite of all that had been done in the industry by the regulator, the vexed issue of poor QoS remained with the industry, adding that issues, such as misleading adverts by operators, poor data services, unsolicited text messages, payment for services not rendered and others were still part of the experience of subscribers. Juwah said the forum would find solutions to all these problems.

    While all the telecoms operators in the country were adequately represented with the Director-General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Adolphus Joe Ekpe, an important stakeholder, such as Consumer Protection Council (CPC) was not represented at all. Similarly, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) was not represented. Analysts say the refusal of the NCC to extend invitation to the group’s President, Deolu Ogunbanjo may not be unconnected with the fact that the group has dragged the operators and the regulator to court praying for relieves for the subscribers.

    Only two self-proclaimed bulwarks of consumer rights movement, Leadership Watch led by Dr Marthins Iwuayanwu and Consumer Empowerment Organisation of Nigeria, led by Adedeji Abiodun were on the occasion to represent the interest of over 130 million subscribers in the country.

    NCC’s Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mrs Maryam Bayi  said the decision of the regulator was to give a new direction to the idea of the TCP, adding that it has stopped being a forum for consumers to complain about the various fraudulent practices of their service providers. She said such issues will no longer be addressed at the Consumer Parliament but at other fora put in place by the regulator such as Consumer Outreach Programme and Town Hall Meetings.

    She identified eight items to be addressed by the elite gathering. The items are: unsolicited text messages/telemarketing; disappearance of air time/dropped balance; drop calls; customer care centre monitoring; inaccessibility of customer care help lines; unlawful deduction of ‘credit’ for value added services (VAS) not subscribed to; poor network service/unavailability of service; and advertisement of unapproved promos.

    She advised customers who were disenfranchised from the forum to complain to the Bureau, adding that the first step they should take will be to complain and get a ticket then follow it up by reporting to Bureau through its contact centre should they fail to get redress to their problem.

    According to her, consumers don’t usually get opportunity to opt out of some the VAS once they find themselves engaged either by deception or fraudulently by subscribing them to the service. Bayi lamented that when the consumers even get an opportunity to opt out, they are automatically renewed at the end of the month. “We are all fustrtaed,” she said.

    Bayi said the network of the operators have become epileptic in some parts of country. according to her, the Bureau received complaints from the Samaru and Congo Campuses of of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria over the poor services of MTN, warning that the industry cannot be sustained without subscribers.

    She complained that even when operators were called upon to stop running their deceptive and misleading promos, they usually turned deaf ears to the NCC. She drew their attention to the the requirement that they give the regulator seven days notification before running any promo.

    Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat, Ibrahim Dikko said spam message form the bulk of unsolicited text messages that run on the networks of the telcos but agreed that more needed to be done in the area of giving consumers opportunity to opt in an opt out of vexatious VAS.

    He warned subscribers to be wary subscribing to services on their mobile phones without taking a second look, adding that this is partly responsible for the disappearance of consumers’ air time.

    Corporate Service Executive at MTN Akinwale Goodluck agreed with Dikko. According to him, a lot of the text messages that broke the sleep of customers were beyond the control of the telcos because they are internet-generated.

    According to him, gathering peoples’ data has become big time business as merchants pay desk attendants at functions to sell data collated about guests to them. He said this data are therefore used by all manner of people offering all manners of services to send bulk messages to people.

    He said another frightening dimension to the problem is that people buy bulk short message service (SMS) from Russia, Uzbekistan and others and dump them on the network of the telcos. He said the operators are complying with the strict regulation concerning bulk SMS.

    Dikko said the problem of drop calls is a combination of several factors. He cited a 15-storey building that suddenly emerged in a neighbourhood very close Etisalat’s BTS. He said the building led to network issues and forced the telco to relocate the BTS so that customers’ experience will not be degraded. He said people stroll with impunity to decommission and seal BTS, preventing access to the sites by people employed to keep it running.

    Goodluck lamented that artificial constraints were still being put on the way of roll out of infrastructure in the country. According to him, operators were still being prevented from laying optic fibre cables in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. He lamented that, three of the four telcos have the BTS switched off in Enugu State, adding that nobody dared walk into the facility of a power plant and vandalise it willfully yet, telecoms infrastructure is as critical and central to modern economic development as power infrastructure.

    Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Airtel Osondu Nwokoro said only advocacy can help address the problem.

    Participants at the even,t however, lamented the absence of consumers at a parliament described as consumers.

    “It is curious why the regulator decided to shut its doors against the consumers that are direct victims of the inadequacies of the operators. The outreach programme and town hall meetings Mrs Bayi is talking about is not as popular as the TCP. For instance, as educated as I am, I have never attended any of these two programmes. It is not because I don’t want to attend, it is because I have never heard information about when they will be held. I only get to see reports in the newspaper about the programmes after they must have been held. You will have noticed that the event was so dry, stale and colourless. It was so because the aggrieved subscribers that used to bring live into the proceedings were shut out,” one of the participants said.

  • A consumer parliament without consumers

    When the monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP) was conceived by the founding fathers of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), it was in partial fulfillment of its role of protecting the consumers. But last week, the regulator suddenly made a detour, preferring to restrict the number of participants at the TCP to ‘important stakeholders’ in the industry. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that shutting the doors against the consumers may do more harm than good.

    For regular attendees at the monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP), the 75th edition of the forum held last week at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos must have come as a shock.  For one, the consumers for which the forum was created to provide succour were nowhere to be found. For another, the venue was elitist and would definitely not be attractive to consumers were they invited.

    Some people explained that the decision of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to hold the event at the venue was to save cost because earlier on, it had launched the Code of Corporate Governance for the Telecommunications Industry.

    In his opening remarks the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah, said the feedbacks from TCP had enhanced the regulatory activities of the Commission, adding that Enforcement Regulation and Quality of Service (QoS) Regulation of 2012 were some of the gains of the parliament.

    He said the forum has been repackaged to limit participation to major stakeholders to enhance robust discussion and rich discussion.

    He lamented that in spite of all that had been done in the industry by the regulator, the vexed issue of poor QoS remained with the industry, adding that issues, such as misleading adverts by operators, poor data services, unsolicited text messages, payment for services not rendered and others were still part of the experience of subscribers. Juwah said the forum would find solutions to all these problems.

    While all the telecoms operators in the country were adequately represented with the Director-General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Adolphus Joe Ekpe, an important stakeholder, such as Consumer Protection Council (CPC) was not represented at all. Similarly, the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) was not represented. Analysts say the refusal of the NCC to extend invitation to the group’s President, Deolu Ogunbanjo may not be unconnected with the fact that the group has dragged the operators and the regulator to court praying for relieves for the subscribers.

    Only two self-proclaimed bulwarks of consumer rights movement, Leadership Watch led by Dr Marthins Iwuayanwu and Consumer Empowerment Organisation of Nigeria, led by Adedeji Abiodun were on the occasion to represent the interest of over 130 million subscribers in the country.

    NCC’s Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mrs Maryam Bayi  said the decision of the regulator was to give a new direction to the idea of the TCP, adding that it has stopped being a forum for consumers to complain about the various fraudulent practices of their service providers. She said such issues will no longer be addressed at the Consumer Parliament but at other fora put in place by the regulator such as Consumer Outreach Programme and Town Hall Meetings.

    She identified eight items to be addressed by the elite gathering. The items are: unsolicited text messages/telemarketing; disappearance of air time/dropped balance; drop calls; customer care centre monitoring; inaccessibility of customer care help lines; unlawful deduction of ‘credit’ for value added services (VAS) not subscribed to; poor network service/unavailability of service; and advertisement of unapproved promos.

    She advised customers who were disenfranchised from the forum to complain to the Bureau, adding that the first step they should take will be to complain and get a ticket then follow it up by reporting to Bureau through its contact centre should they fail to get redress to their problem.

    According to her, consumers don’t usually get opportunity to opt out of some the VAS once they find themselves engaged either by deception or fraudulently by subscribing them to the service. Bayi lamented that when the consumers even get an opportunity to opt out, they are automatically renewed at the end of the month. “We are all fustrtaed,” she said.

    Bayi said the network of the operators have become epileptic in some parts of country. according to her, the Bureau received complaints from the Samaru and Congo Campuses of of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria over the poor services of MTN, warning that the industry cannot be sustained without subscribers.

    She complained that even when operators were called upon to stop running their deceptive and misleading promos, they usually turned deaf ears to the NCC. She drew their attention to the the requirement that they give the regulator seven days notification before running any promo.

    Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat, Ibrahim Dikko said spam message form the bulk of unsolicited text messages that run on the networks of the telcos but agreed that more needed to be done in the area of giving consumers opportunity to opt in an opt out of vexatious VAS.

    He warned subscribers to be wary subscribing to services on their mobile phones without taking a second look, adding that this is partly responsible for the disappearance of consumers’ air time.

    Corporate Service Executive at MTN Akinwale Goodluck agreed with Dikko. According to him, a lot of the text messages that broke the sleep of customers were beyond the control of the telcos because they are internet-generated.

    According to him, gathering peoples’ data has become big time business as merchants pay desk attendants at functions to sell data collated about guests to them. He said this data are therefore used by all manner of people offering all manners of services to send bulk messages to people.

    He said another frightening dimension to the problem is that people buy bulk short message service (SMS) from Russia, Uzbekistan and others and dump them on the network of the telcos. He said the operators are complying with the strict regulation concerning bulk SMS.

    Dikko said the problem of drop calls is a combination of several factors. He cited a 15-storey building that suddenly emerged in a neighbourhood very close Etisalat’s BTS. He said the building led to network issues and forced the telco to relocate the BTS so that customers’ experience will not be degraded. He said people stroll with impunity to decommission and seal BTS, preventing access to the sites by people employed to keep it running.

    Goodluck lamented that artificial constraints were still being put on the way of roll out of infrastructure in the country. According to him, operators were still being prevented from laying optic fibre cables in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. He lamented that, three of the four telcos have the BTS switched off in Enugu State, adding that nobody dared walk into the facility of a power plant and vandalise it willfully yet, telecoms infrastructure is as critical and central to modern economic development as power infrastructure.

    Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Airtel Osondu Nwokoro said only advocacy can help address the problem.

    Participants at the even,t however, lamented the absence of consumers at a parliament described as consumers.

    “It is curious why the regulator decided to shut its doors against the consumers that are direct victims of the inadequacies of the operators. The outreach programme and town hall meetings Mrs Bayi is talking about is not as popular as the TCP. For instance, as educated as I am, I have never attended any of these two programmes. It is not because I don’t want to attend, it is because I have never heard information about when they will be held. I only get to see reports in the newspaper about the programmes after they must have been held. You will have noticed that the event was so dry, stale and colourless. It was so because the aggrieved subscribers that used to bring live into the proceedings were shut out,” one of the participants said.

  • Lagos moves to protect consumers

    Lagos moves to protect consumers

    The Lagos State government has reiterated its determination to tackle headlong the issues of consumer rights protection in the state, its Deputy Governor, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has said.

    Represented by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Commerce and Industry, Hon Oluseye Oladejo at the Lagos Consumer forum organised by the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON) in conjunction with the state government, she said protecting consumers is one of the primary duties of the government.

    She said: “As a government, it is our mandate to guarantee the welfare of the citizenry while also promoting the economic development of the rights of consumers to ensure that they get value for money spent on goods and services.”

    According to her, if consumer rights are protected, it would bring economic development to the state.

    “This would no doubt sustain production activities, boost the gross domestic product (GDP), guarantee employment and ultimately engender economic development of the state,” she said.

    The deputy governor said the forum was meant to discuss consumers’ rights in the telecoms industry.

    “The creation of a platform of this nature where consumer rights issues in the telecoms sector is being examined with a view to ascertaining the extent of the level of abuse, exploitation and options available for redress is a step in the right direction,” she said.

    The Lagos Consumer Forum streamlined the consumers’ day to press for value for money in telecoms service.

    According to the deputy governor, the essence of the modification of the theme is meant to address the immediate needs of the people of the state and the country at large.

    “The theme has been modified to ‘Value for Money in Telecoms Services’ in order to address our immediate consumer rights challenges in the state,” she said.

    Mrs Orelope-Adefulire said to show the state government’s commitment to protecting consumers rights, a bill on Consumer Protection Agency had been passed into law.

    “To underscore the seriousness of the state government in protecting the rights of our people especially as they relate to consumer issues and to ensure that they get correct value for their money on purchases, the state governor has signed into law the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency Bill,” she said.

    Speaking on ‘Consumer Issue in Telecoms,’ president of CAFON, Ms Sola Salako said the consumer rights to quality service from the telecom providers has been violated by the telecom services providers.

    She said the five-point agenda of the telecoms which are to provide consumer with access to an affordable and reliable service, provide consumer with fair contracts explained in clear, complete and acceptable and accessible language, provide consumers with fair and transparent billing, provide consumers with security and power over their own information, listen and respond to consumers complaint have not been met by the telcos.

    Ms Salako said the telecoms sector must provide the consumer with better service.

    “Consumers deserve better services from the telecoms; the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as a regulator must do better than fines to ensure compliance, consumers must be discerning in signing up for any telecoms services (voice or data) and telecoms service providers must realise communication is not just business, it is an essential service,” she added.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mr Wale Raji, in his welcome address, said the forum was meant to address issues in the sector and proffer solutions to consumer rights violations.

    ‘’This forum is meant to address some of the critical consumer rights that are being infringed upon on daily basis by service providers in the telecoms sector. Some of these issues are unsolicited text messages, high drop call rates, poor customer service, high call tariff, exploitation of consumers through lotteries and privacy issues,’’ he added.

    He urged Lagosians to seek redress with the state’s Consumer Protection Committee whenever their rights are trampled upon.