By Williams Charles Oluwatoyin
The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council of Nigeria, Barrister Babatunde Irukera has expressed his desire and wish to setup a Consumer Protection Council office and perhaps training location in Kogi state. He stated this during an interview he granted to the E-Reporter News.
According to Irukera, he took over seven Consumer Protection Council offices in different parts of Nigeria. Within one year in office as the Director General, he established the Kano office, to meet the Kano’s cosmopolitan demands for consumer protection.
“I am keen on creating an office and training location in Kogi State, as an additional step to fulfill the council’s statutory mandate, which is the protection of consumers from abusive, unscrupulous and exploitative behaviour and to to pursue remedial action on behalf of consumers”
On his experience as Director General of the Consumer protection Council, Irukera said it is a broad mandate and the Council in the time he has been there has embraced its responsibility ambitiously
“ I believe the Council is better known by consumers, more respected by industry, and more engaging with industry, consumers and other regulators. It has been a challenge of some sorts to bring the Council to where we are now, yet there’s still a significant road ahead to truly institutionalize customer care and respect for consumer rights. However, I am confident that the entire consumer protection framework in Nigeria is becoming more robust and the reforms we are pursuing will certainly be that even further”
Apart from being in the news for his sterling work protecting consumers, Babatunde is also perennially in the news politically and taunted as a possible exceptional representation as a senator from Kogi West in the 2019 elections. Although the news is rife and the political permutations are very favorable to him from a competence and popularity standpoint, as well as internal senatorial district rotation, his response to the question so far has been
“I have a mandate to deliver and a job to do at the Consumer Protection Council, what I do with that is the best assessment and qualification for the distinguished further responsibility of high elected office such as senator”.
Irukera’s entire legal and public service career of almost 30 years has been about fighting for, or protecting the rights of people; from assisting immigrants in the U.S to remain, and assisting refugees and asylum seekers to escape from their fears and find a home and peace in the United States.
In Nigeria, he has won landmark cases for both people and government against multinationals and organizations and now as Director General, Consumer Protection Council .
“All I have ever done is to fight for and represent people, especially the vulnerable” He said.
