FCCPC: Irukera Seeks Special Insurance Cover for Health Emergencies

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Director General of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC)  Mr Babatunde Irukera, has advocated a special health insurance cover for Nigerians in critical health emergencies to forestall avoidable loss of lives in accidents and other fortuitous circumstances.

Irukera who spoke against the backdrop of the death of a young lady recently after an attack by some hoodlums on Lagos Island, at a media interactive  in Lagos, said her death could have been avoided if there was adequate  insurance cover and training for medical personnel whom she approached for treatment after the attack.

But regretted that rather than offer the necessary first aid and medical assistance, the medics were demanding for police report before attending to her reading to the  untimely death of the victim.

Irukera however called for a change of narrative in the handling of victims of violent attacks in a way to stem incidents of needless loss of lives of Nigerians across the country.

The FCCPC boss who said the mandate of his agency was to protect consumers in  commerce said it could also intervene when a government agency that is meant to provide service to consumers fail to meet their expectations.

He said the agency’s collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on cross border mergers and acquisition has continued to receive commendations from stakeholders given its focus on ensuring fairness to consumers of goods and services as well as investors in entities going into mergers and acquisitions.

Meanwhile, the FCCPC said it now receives about 1,000 complaints weekly from consumers who write to express their discomfort on goods and services they paid for.

According to Irukera, the increase in number of complaints from between 700 to 1,000 it was receiving yearly in the past was an indication that more Nigerians are becoming aware of their right to protest poor quality goods and services given to them.

He added that the sharp increase was a reflection of the high level of awareness and consumer confidence in the agency.

“This shows that our role is becoming more visible, consumers are beginning to know their rights.”

Credit: The Sun


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