Travel agencies sign pact with FCCPC to protect travellers
The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) have signed an agreement to protect travellers and travel trade operators from unfair operational practices.
The Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Tunji Bello, said this in a statement on Friday.
He said the agreement was signed in Abuja on Thursday.
Bello said that the pact would be for a duration of two years but with an open window for renewal, subject to certain satisfactory metrics.
He said that NANTA had always been proactive in the affairs of the Nigerian travel industry, as he described the initiative as bold and innovative.
He noted that he had always followed with keen interest the activities of NANTA, particularly its consistent advocacy to protect the Nigerian travelling public and the discomfort with unfair play and lack of equity in travel trade practices in the country.
“I am excited to meet with NANTA members today. You have always set the pace, and when I came in, I was briefed about your relationship with FCCPC.
“Today, we are happy to sign into agreement this noble effort that captures all our passion and expectations to protect our people (consumers) from unfair trade practices, including the operators,” he said.
Speaking on the unhealthy situation in the national trade economy, Bello bemoaned the unbridled spate of high prices of goods and services in the country, wondering if Nigerians truly love each other.
He noted that price hikes of consumer goods in various markets do not tally with empirical findings by FCCPC of cost of goods and as such negated the laws on fair and equitable trade practices.
“We are glad to work with this set of Nigerians to make our country better and respected in the comity of nations,” he said.
Also, Mr Yinka Folami, NANTA’s President, said that the association, as trade body can not stand by and watch the entire Nigerian travel trade sector eroded by obnoxious trade practices.
He commended FCCPC for being consistent in the pursuance of the protection of the rights of consumers and in diffusing the negative climate of trade exploitation that hurt the Nigerian economy and the people .
“I honestly wonder if we love our country, our Naira, and our people, as everything we do has to be influenced by foreign denominations and it is like our currency, the Naira, is no longer sovereign.
“We intentionally came with our Chairman Board of Trustees, Alhaji Aminu Agoha, to sign this historic agreement because we believe with this modest intervention, we have achieved 50 per cent of our delivery as an association to our members and in particular the travelling public.
“We thank Mr Tunji Bello and his professional team for believing in NANTA and willing to work with us to clean up our sector.
“Today will forever remain historic and memorable to us in NANTA, and we assure FCCPC that our partnership on this path will be taken seriously,” he said.
