By Favour Nnabugwu

Consumer Protection Council, CPC, has invited passengers on Aero Contractors Flight AJ 132 who passed the night at the airport for no fault of theirs only to be flown the following day for a chat with the intention of sanctioning the airline.

CPC Director-General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki in Abuja weekend, said the agency will hence forth hasten up investigations and prosecution of consumer rights violators in the country.

Piqued by the distasteful experience of the 50 passengers booked on the flight of the airline, CPC invited the passengers to come forward with evidences of maltreatment and relay their loss and experiences to the agency.

About 50 passengers who were scheduled on the flight were unable to proceed on their journey and had to spend the night at the Airport terminal building until the following morning, Saturday 9th November 2013 when the flight was eventually operated”

The intervention of the CPC in the airline’s operation, she stated, is to protect the interest of the passengers as regard their rights.

“CPC intervention in the matter is to ensure that consumers are protected, treated fairly and when violations occur, appropriate redress and remedies are provided in accordance with Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA’s Passengers’ Bill of Rights, Atoki said”

She posited that it is a common practice in this civilized age for nations like Nigeria to make laws that are designed to protect the interest of its citizenry in the course of buying and using goods or services which is why the CPC is there to protect consumer against exploitation, risk of exposure to harm as well as providing platform for consumers to seek redress”

Atoki said the council which has been granted an in-house prosecutor status can now call to order the most influential organisation that violates consumers’ right as they are bound by the laws of this country.

“CPC has prosecution powers and has secured the Attorney general of the Federation’s approval for an in-house prosecutor who can speedily institute actions against any person or company that contravenes the provisions of CPC Act or violates the order of the council,”she stated.