By Anthony Anyalewechi,
Owerri
Residents of Imo State have been enjoined to be safety conscious while purchasing goods and services in the state,
It was averred that this will reduce the high mortality rate resulting from consumption of fake products and services in the state.
The warning was handed down during the World Consumers Right Day celebration organized by the Consumers Protection Council (CPC), in the Imo State capital, Owerri.
Speakers at the event described it as sad a situation Nigerians are not only unprotected from manufacturers’ consumer products but are also ignorant of their rights to seek redress at the appropriate quarters.
The guest speaker who is the immediate past Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-governance, Dr. Chinedu Amadi in in a keynote address, identified areas of setback in the fight for consumers protection right in Nigeria, especially in Imo State and suggested the need to embrace the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance the course.
Giving an insight into his submission, Amadi said AI is a simple machine that mimics human intelligence to perform certain functions which has proven to be efficient in all aspects of human endeavours.
According to him, the technology could be deployed to enhance productivity in the areas of Agric-tech, health and the economy as a whole.
He called on critical stakeholders; regulators, service providers, consumers and innovators of the technology to direct their efforts on ensuring consumers safety is prioritized in the process of developing AI.
Drawing inference from this year’s theme christened: “Fair and Responsible Artificial Intelligence for Consumers”, Amadi said the event came at the right time as it would remind the people of the state that “we are already in a very transformative world where AI has taken centre stage in order to help the consumer enforce their rights towards having better and quality service and to enjoy better experience.
Speaking on the si9delines of the event, a member of Imo State House of Assembly representing Ideato North constituency, Hon. Udeze Ernest Okechukwu, stated that Governor Hope Uzodinma’s alignment with global best practice has created the Ministry of Digital Economy and E-governance, to empower the state for use of AI.
The legislator expressed regret that Nigeria has missed out on the first, second and third industrial revolution across the globe, pointing out that Nigeria and Imo State in particular cannot afford to stand aloof in the fourth which is digital revolution.
Okechukwu explained that Imo legislators have considered various problems ranging from communication deficit, outrageous electricity bill imposed on consumers monthly as well as other products and initiated a bill that will soon be passed into law to empower all public right protection agencies to clamp down on organisations or individuals violating consumers right.
The Director General, Consumers Protection Council (CPC), Imo State, Mrs. Obioma Okafor in her remarks at the occasion disclosed that the occasion comes up 15th March every year.
According to her, CPC has engaged in an intensive awareness campaign to the people of the state and advised the public to ensure they check all products for NAFDAC number, expiry date and manufacture’s address before purchasing them.
She encouraged the public to report products confirm to be unhealthy for consumption and promised to continue running open door policy to enable complainants to have free access to report their cases.
Mrs. Okafor revealed that comes June this year, CPC will visit some markets in the state to carry out routine operations to impound substandard products and burn them along with those already confiscated and looked up in CPC warehouse.
