According to Bisi Kazeem, Head, Media Relations and Strategy, FRSC, the Director General said both the FRSC and the CPC share some common values on issues of protecting the safety and welfare of the consumers through creation of adequate awareness on the unethical practices of some service providers. Mrs Atoki further stated that the importance of public awareness on issues of qualitative service delivery and the rights of the consumers to complain against poor services cannot be overemphasised, noting that the two organisations must come together to work in the interest of the consumers.
“I have been keenly following your safety campaigns across the country, and it is our belief that if we work together, more positive results could be achieved in protecting members of the public against the practices of some unscrupulous service providers,” she stated.
Mrs Atoki stressed that the essence of her visit was to familiarise herself with the operations of the FRSC and to explore areas of common interest for greater synergy between the two agencies, adding that the commitment of the FRSC leadership and the staff to issues of quality service delivery is exemplary in public service in the country, commending the FRSC for always willing to share its ideas with other stakeholders for common national goals. “What FRSC is doing is a lesson to others in public management,” she further stated.
On joint campaign to educate consumers on their rights, the Director General called on the FRSC to join hands with the Council for collective efforts against importers and manufacturers of fake tyres as well as those that engage in overloading and touting in the driver’s licences which they produce at exorbitant prices to unsuspecting members of the public. She added that the Consumer Protection Council will support FRSC in its campaign for speed control in the country through the introduction of the speed limiting devices, enforcement of which would commence on 1st April 2016.
”The relationship between the FRSC and the CPC has been cordial over the years, but there is the need to step up the collaboration in the collective desire to save the consumers from the unwholesome practices of some service providers,” she said.
“Let me, therefore, assure you that the Consumer Protection Council will collaborate with the FRSC in the collective determination to protect consumers’ rights by creating adequate awareness that could save them from the exploitative practices of some service providers,” Mrs Atoki noted.
In his own remarks, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi, while thanking the Director General for the visit commended her for her aggressive campaigns for consumers’ rights, saying the unrelenting efforts she has been making to create public awareness on consumer rights have made members of the public to become sensitive to issues of quality service delivery. He pledged the support of the FRSC to the campaign to make the country safe for all consumers through adequate awareness creation and application of sanctions. Oyeyemi further stated that the visit was a renewal of the existing relationship between the two organisations, saying Consumer Protection Council remains one of the strategic stakeholders in FRSC.
According to him, one area that the two organisations must urgently come together to enlighten members of the public on is the “Child Restraint” campaign, pointing out that despite the safety implications of parents sitting with children in front of a moving vehicle without adequate restraint, some still indulge in the act. The Corps Marshal further observed that that his men have been getting some unpleasant encounters with some parents who sit with their children in front of moving vehicles without adequate restraint, stating that instead of such parents appreciating the safety concerns of the Marshals, they took it to be a disturbance.
“This attitude, has to stop through awareness creation and application of sanctions, as children deserve the best protection from their parents,” Oyeyemi stated.
As part of the efforts to sustain the relationship, the two leaders resolved to set up a technical committee that would harmonise all areas of mutual interest for greater collaboration in the collective campaigns to save consumers from the unethical practices of some service providers.
Highlight of the visit was the facility tour undertaken by the Director General to the FRSC Call Centre and other infrastructural base supporting the Corps’ technological innovation for efficient management of traffic in the country.
The Director General was accompanied on the visit by some senior management staff of the Council .
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