BY Favour Nnabugwu & Retna Otohomdet

ABUJA—Determined to protect Nigerian consumers from deadly and expired products, the Federal Government has slammed a ban on products that violate the litmus test of safety and health regulations in the country.

The Director-General, Consumers Protection Council, CPC, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, who confirmed the development during the flag-off of ‘Check the Best Before Dates Campaign’ in Abuja yesterday, said the country could not afford to risk the lives of its citizenry by manufacturers, distributors and retailers who sell expired and harmful products to consumers.

Atoki lamented that makers and sellers of most products had capitalised on the ignorance and carelessness of Nigerian consumers who most of the time, hurriedly buy products without bothering to check the expiration dates, thereby endangering their lives with such deadly and harmful products.

She said:  “We will ban products that are not safe and healthy for Nigerian consumers and products that are near expiration dates”.
Atoki said products such as foods, beverages, cosmetics, water, even recharge cards, should have their expiration dates clearly written for consumers to see, adding  that they must also meet all safety and health regulations before being pushed into the markets.
“It is also common knowledge that even when not expired, the qualities of most products get compromised when stored under harsh weather conditions.

“It is worrisome that most super stores across the country stock their bottled water and beverages under direct sunlight in front of their shops for weeks on end.
“The practice of storing such items under the sun is unacceptable as it negates the storage conditions stipulated for them by the manufacturers and thereby expose consumers to injury.

“In our reckoning, the issue of BB dates is crucial, owing to the grave risks and economic losses suffered by Nigerian consumers who purchase products like foods, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, batteries tyres, paint and other items without paying attention to their expiry dates.”

The CPC, a parastatal under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments is duly empowered by the Consumer Protection Council Act Cap 25, LFN 2004, to, among others, provide speedy redress to consumers’ complaints, remove hazardous products from the market, cause an offending company to protect, and compensate and provide relief to injured consumers.

The Act also empowers the CPC to encourage the adoption of appropriate measures by companies to ensure that products were safe for intended use, ban the sale of products, which do not comply with safety or health regulations, undertake investigation of consumer abuse, and prosecute violators of all enactments for protecting consumers.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga gave his backing to CPC, the federal government was determined to stem the activities of deadly and harmful products though stricter regulatory enforcement

“In view of the hazard posed to consumers by this situation and other forms of consumer abuse, my ministry will give every support to the CPC in its ongoing efforts to step up its inspection and enforcement activities, with a view to detecting, exposing and prosecuting dubious businesses that profiteer at the expense of consumers”.

The campaign to sensitise consumers across the country on safe and healthy products, Aganga who was represented by Mr Jonathan Yuma, a director at the Ministry, noted was in tandem with CPC’s statutory responsibility to undertake campaigns that would lead to increased public consumers awareness and encouraging the adoption of appropriate measures to ensure that products are safe for either intended or normally safe use.

“You will all agree with me therefore that the council’s “check the BB Date” campaign is a very laudable program. The campaign which will commence nationwide after this formal launch is designed to provide real protection for undiscerning and vulnerable consumers by making it compelling for consumers to check the BB date before making purchases”