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Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera, on Monday said the Lagos State has emerged one of the largest and most recognised economies in the world.
Irukera made the submission when he led a delegation of the CPC, top officials from the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), on a courtesy visit to governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja.
The CPC boss, while noting that Lagos was strategic to Nigeria’s growth and development, said the state had become a model for other states in Nigeria and a force to reckon with in the global space.
“Lagos state is one of the largest sub-national economies in Africa and one of the most recognised sub-national economies in the world. That is something, because it means that the economy of Lagos is far larger than many countries in the world. So, you actually have presidents that are actually smaller than the governor of Lagos,” he said.
Irukera, noted that Lagos houses the bulk of production and importation activities in Nigeria and majority of complaints received by the CPC comes from consumers in the state.
While commending the state government for setting up the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), Irukera lauded the governor for providing quality leadership which according to him, had raised the bar of governance in Nigeria.
“While people might excuse the proscription of their rights by their government, they certainly will never excuse a government that cannot protect it from other private citizens and you have demonstrated that you recognise that as an important thing and you have taken a fundamental step to that,” Irukera said.
Responding, Governor Ambode charged the CPC to look beyond the rights of people to have quality products and services and beam its searchlight on other key sectors which have direct impact on the standard of living of Nigerians.
“The kind of services that we provide in terms of transportation; is it the kind of thing that our people should have, should we just label them and say that is what their own lifestyle should be? These are things that we should find some platform to talk about,” governor Ambode said.
He also pledged support for the ‘National Quality Infrastructure Project,’adding that the rights of Lagosians and Nigerians in general to quality goods and services is guaranteed.
The Governor said his administration had already queued behind the advocacy with the setting up of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), chaired by consumer rights advocate and lawyer, Mrs. Olufunmilola Falana.
Among those present at the visit include the National President, NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson; Chief Technical Adviser, UNIDO, Dr. Shaukat Malik; Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adamu Moh’d Abdulhamid and Chairman, Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, Mrs. Funmilola Falana.
