From Suleiman Idris, Lagos
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) are currently locked in a tangle over who is responsible for sanctioning erring organisations over customers’ rights. The NCAA yesterday expressed what it calls a grave concerns over the intermittent encroachment of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) into matters within NCAA’s regulatory purview. The media on Tuesday 29th of April awash with an order from CPC with far reaching sanctions purportedly meted out to an air carrier, Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Limited.
According to CPC, its action was pursuant to several publications in some National Dailies and a consumer complaint it received. The NCAA said the functions of the CPC are general and not specific to civil aviation matters. Fan Ndubuoke, the agency’s General Manager, Public Affair, said it is the NCAA, established by the Civil Aviation Act of 2006 that is given specific powers, among other regulate, supervise and monitor the activities of Nigerian and foreign carriers and to institute programmes for the protection of aviation consumer interests. “With regard to the complaint against Aero Contractors, the general public may wish to be informed that the DCP of NCAA duly received and processed it and applied the appropriate sanctions under Part 19 of NigCARs.”
The Authority approved the airline’s offer to the passengers of free tickets on its flights to any destination of their choice in Nigeria and as we speak, eleven (11) of them have utilized the offer.” The statement read.
