…Carts away laptop computers, documents
Officers of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) yesterday stormed the office of Digital Satellite Television (DStv), as part of their investigation into complaints by subscribers.
Led by the Director of Legal Services, Mr. Emmanuel Ataguba, the CPC stated that its action was “in line with one of its mandates to provide redress for consumer abuse, commenced investigations into the operations of DStv based on a barrage of complaints of alleged consumer rights violations.”
The Council, he said, took the step in accordance with Section 15 of its enabling law, which empowers it to “open and examine while on the premises, any container or package, which could help the course of its investigation as well as examine any book, document or other records found on the premises that may contain any information relevant to the enforcement of its Act.”
A statement by the CPC said yesterday’s action followed a barrage of consumer complaints alleging wide-range abuse of their rights. “These include poor quality of service, such as incessant disruption of service without compensation, wrongful disconnection of service during subsisting subscriptions, decoder swap irregularities and poor redress mechanism and customer service,” it stated.
During the visit to DStv, the CPC officials came with a warrant, accompanied by policemen and journalists.
Sources revealed that the CPC officials left with laptop computers and important documents about DStv operations.
It may be recalled that a hitch had developed in the CPC’s ongoing investigation into MultiChoice’s consumer satisfaction initiatives.
Daily Sun gathered that the hitch developed during an earlier scheduled meeting between the company and CPC officials at the commission’s head office in Abuja. The breakdown was occasioned by CPC’s demand that MultiChoice hands over personal information of its subscribers as well as its exclusive contract in Nigeria.
The MultiChoice team, led by Managing Director, Mr. John Ugbe, was said to have drawn the attention of the CPC to the fact that the company owes its subscribers a duty to protect their personal information.
Dstv, sources added, took time to explain that releasing sensitive information about subscribers, as requested by CPC, would amount to a breach of the trust subscribers reposed in the it when they signed up to its services.
MultiChoice representatives were quoted to have expressed readiness to cooperate with the CPC in its effort to ensure that subscribers obtain improved customer satisfaction, but rejected the demand that verges on violation of subscribers’ confidentiality.
The company had explained that one of the ways in which it provides customer service to its subscribers is by keeping the information they have entrusted in its care.
MultiChoice, it was gathered, was also said to have explained that its exclusive contract contains non-disclosure clauses and wondered what relevance it has to an investigation into customer satisfaction.
CPC statement, however, said the earlier meeting was stalled when it received a letter “from Multichoice Nigeria acknowledging the CPC request for additional information and asked for a six-week extension for the continuation of the investigation, claiming that the notice of the summons was short.
“The CPC declined the six-week extension request, countering the short notice claim of Multichoice Nigeria, and insisting that its representatives at the first sitting of the investigation were constructively put on notice to produce additional documents. In the interest of justice, the CPC granted a postponement for two weeks to Thursday, September 10, 2015. The sitting, which resumed on Thursday, September 10, 2015, was greeted by another request by Multichoice Nigeria to be allowed to have legal representation at the sitting, forcing the CPC investigating panel to, once more, adjourn sitting.
“On that fateful day, the Managing Director of the firm, Mr. John
Ugbe, led an eight-man team to the resumed sitting, wanting to appear as a group before the panel. This was turned down by the panel, which insisted that the summons sent to the company conveyed specific invitation to its Head of Operations and Customer Care, as well as the Head of Regulatory Affairs.
“Faced with the insistence of the panel not to change its course of investigation, the Managing Director of Multichoice Nigeria requested that the company would wish that its officers have legal representation. This was duly acceded to by the panel.”
The statement said the delay in the investigation “has left the CPC with no other option than to do everything within the law to ensure that consumers are saved the agony of an endless wait for the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.
terday in Abuja and lamented that oil producing communities have become increasingly impoverished and vulnerable to senseless exploitation and abuse.
According to him , the Niger Delta region made up of the existing 10 oil producing states are the most polluted places on earth. “The United Nation’s Environmental Protection (UNEP) report tstates that Ogoni land, as in most oil producing areas, has lived with chronic pollution all their lives with benzene level 900 times higher than the recommendations of the world Health Organization, while the region has witnessed massive destruction of vegetables and agricultural land by oil spills,” he said.
While demanding an immediate end to gas flaring in Nigeria, OMAPLAN stated that past administrations were not sincere with oil producing communities because they tacitly ignored persistent calls to enforce subsisting environmental laws and refusing to intervene and stop massive diversion of mitigation programs by the political class.
The association said they desire that government and multi – nationals deliver on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) to impact on most communities and take the issue of flaring of associated gas in Nigeria with seriousness it deserves.
“The toxic cocktail from associated gas flares pose serious health risks to local communities which are located within 30km radius, thereby affecting their livelihood and exposing residents of these communities to a variety of health hazards and an increased risk of premature death,” the association said.
Bishop Azogu explained that various mitigation schemes established by the Federal Government , including the Oil Derivation Fund Commission and Ecological Fund to address negative environmental impacts on local communities have only benefited the tiny but influential political class and the corrupt local elite.
He disclosed that the result were that vulnerable host communities continue to suffer the brunt of mounting environmental degradation and are ravaged perennially by severe health and ecological challenges resulting from prolonged exposure to dangerous emissions and radiations.
“These communities are defenseless before the tiny but influential political class who remained deaf to sustained and lawful agitations for justice and sometimes resorted to excessive repressive force to whittle down oppositions, “he said.
According to him the associations recognizes the efforts of some compliant state Governors who mobilize fund for development goal in oil producing communities through the states mitigation program.
They frowned that there is conspicuous absence of effective monitoring mechanism in these compliant states to ensure effective service delivery as Politician and the corrupt local elite continue to shortchange target communities.
Azogu said OMPALAN were optimistic that producing state Governors under the present administration would respect the laws establishing the 13 per cent oil derivation fund commission and other mitigation schemes to the letter.
He lamented that past federal Government administration were not sincere with oil producing communities because they tacitly ignored persistent calls to enforce subsisting environmental laws, refusing to intervene and stop massive diversion of mitigation programs by the political class.
Source: The sun
Led by the Director of Legal Services, Mr. Emmanuel Ataguba, the CPC stated that its action was “in line with one of its mandates to provide redress for consumer abuse, commenced investigations into the operations of DStv based on a barrage of complaints of alleged consumer rights violations.”
The Council, he said, took the step in accordance with Section 15 of its enabling law, which empowers it to “open and examine while on the premises, any container or package, which could help the course of its investigation as well as examine any book, document or other records found on the premises that may contain any information relevant to the enforcement of its Act.”
A statement by the CPC said yesterday’s action followed a barrage of consumer complaints alleging wide-range abuse of their rights. “These include poor quality of service, such as incessant disruption of service without compensation, wrongful disconnection of service during subsisting subscriptions, decoder swap irregularities and poor redress mechanism and customer service,” it stated.
During the visit to DStv, the CPC officials came with a warrant, accompanied by policemen and journalists.
Sources revealed that the CPC officials left with laptop computers and important documents about DStv operations.
It may be recalled that a hitch had developed in the CPC’s ongoing investigation into MultiChoice’s consumer satisfaction initiatives.
Daily Sun gathered that the hitch developed during an earlier scheduled meeting between the company and CPC officials at the commission’s head office in Abuja. The breakdown was occasioned by CPC’s demand that MultiChoice hands over personal information of its subscribers as well as its exclusive contract in Nigeria.
The MultiChoice team, led by Managing Director, Mr. John Ugbe, was said to have drawn the attention of the CPC to the fact that the company owes its subscribers a duty to protect their personal information.
Dstv, sources added, took time to explain that releasing sensitive information about subscribers, as requested by CPC, would amount to a breach of the trust subscribers reposed in the it when they signed up to its services.
MultiChoice representatives were quoted to have expressed readiness to cooperate with the CPC in its effort to ensure that subscribers obtain improved customer satisfaction, but rejected the demand that verges on violation of subscribers’ confidentiality.
The company had explained that one of the ways in which it provides customer service to its subscribers is by keeping the information they have entrusted in its care.
MultiChoice, it was gathered, was also said to have explained that its exclusive contract contains non-disclosure clauses and wondered what relevance it has to an investigation into customer satisfaction.
CPC statement, however, said the earlier meeting was stalled when it received a letter “from Multichoice Nigeria acknowledging the CPC request for additional information and asked for a six-week extension for the continuation of the investigation, claiming that the notice of the summons was short.
“The CPC declined the six-week extension request, countering the short notice claim of Multichoice Nigeria, and insisting that its representatives at the first sitting of the investigation were constructively put on notice to produce additional documents. In the interest of justice, the CPC granted a postponement for two weeks to Thursday, September 10, 2015. The sitting, which resumed on Thursday, September 10, 2015, was greeted by another request by Multichoice Nigeria to be allowed to have legal representation at the sitting, forcing the CPC investigating panel to, once more, adjourn sitting.
“On that fateful day, the Managing Director of the firm, Mr. John
Ugbe, led an eight-man team to the resumed sitting, wanting to appear as a group before the panel. This was turned down by the panel, which insisted that the summons sent to the company conveyed specific invitation to its Head of Operations and Customer Care, as well as the Head of Regulatory Affairs.
“Faced with the insistence of the panel not to change its course of investigation, the Managing Director of Multichoice Nigeria requested that the company would wish that its officers have legal representation. This was duly acceded to by the panel.”
The statement said the delay in the investigation “has left the CPC with no other option than to do everything within the law to ensure that consumers are saved the agony of an endless wait for the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.
terday in Abuja and lamented that oil producing communities have become increasingly impoverished and vulnerable to senseless exploitation and abuse.
According to him , the Niger Delta region made up of the existing 10 oil producing states are the most polluted places on earth. “The United Nation’s Environmental Protection (UNEP) report tstates that Ogoni land, as in most oil producing areas, has lived with chronic pollution all their lives with benzene level 900 times higher than the recommendations of the world Health Organization, while the region has witnessed massive destruction of vegetables and agricultural land by oil spills,” he said.
While demanding an immediate end to gas flaring in Nigeria, OMAPLAN stated that past administrations were not sincere with oil producing communities because they tacitly ignored persistent calls to enforce subsisting environmental laws and refusing to intervene and stop massive diversion of mitigation programs by the political class.
The association said they desire that government and multi – nationals deliver on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) to impact on most communities and take the issue of flaring of associated gas in Nigeria with seriousness it deserves.
“The toxic cocktail from associated gas flares pose serious health risks to local communities which are located within 30km radius, thereby affecting their livelihood and exposing residents of these communities to a variety of health hazards and an increased risk of premature death,” the association said.
Bishop Azogu explained that various mitigation schemes established by the Federal Government , including the Oil Derivation Fund Commission and Ecological Fund to address negative environmental impacts on local communities have only benefited the tiny but influential political class and the corrupt local elite.
He disclosed that the result were that vulnerable host communities continue to suffer the brunt of mounting environmental degradation and are ravaged perennially by severe health and ecological challenges resulting from prolonged exposure to dangerous emissions and radiations.
“These communities are defenseless before the tiny but influential political class who remained deaf to sustained and lawful agitations for justice and sometimes resorted to excessive repressive force to whittle down oppositions, “he said.
According to him the associations recognizes the efforts of some compliant state Governors who mobilize fund for development goal in oil producing communities through the states mitigation program.
They frowned that there is conspicuous absence of effective monitoring mechanism in these compliant states to ensure effective service delivery as Politician and the corrupt local elite continue to shortchange target communities.
Azogu said OMPALAN were optimistic that producing state Governors under the present administration would respect the laws establishing the 13 per cent oil derivation fund commission and other mitigation schemes to the letter.
He lamented that past federal Government administration were not sincere with oil producing communities because they tacitly ignored persistent calls to enforce subsisting environmental laws, refusing to intervene and stop massive diversion of mitigation programs by the political class.
Source: The sun
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