House C’tte Mulls Budget Review for Consumer Protection Tribunal

The House of Representatives Committee on Commerce has said it will consider an upward review of the budgetary allocation to Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT).

The committee also sought the implementation of the judgment the tribunal passed against MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd. on “Pay-As-You-Go“.

CCPT Head of Corporate Communications and Strategy Unit, Ayotomiwa Ayodele disclosed yesterday in a statement issued in Abuja.

She said the lawmakers promised to look into the complaint of the tribunal arising from the cut in its 2023 budgetary provision with a view to reviewing the allocation.

The Chairman of the House Committee, Hon. Femi Fakeye, commended the tribunal for a job well done in the year under review.

The statement quoted CCPT Chairman, Hajia Saratu Shafii, as saying that the tribunal’s 2023 budget was slashed by 38 per cent.

Shafii urged the committee to look into the budget and use its power of allocation to improve the lots of the tribunal in order for it to achieve better service delivery.

The statement quoted the lawmaker as seizing the opportunity to inquire about one of the major cases brought before the tribunal which involved MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd.

According to her, Hon. Thomas Okosun, the presiding member of the three-man panel that adjudicated on the case, highlighted the verdicts of the tribunal and the recent judgment on the Stay-of Execution filed by Multichoice.

She said the committee thereafter tasked the tribunal to ensure that the “Pay-As-You-Go“ stance was enforced to curb the unreasonable payment of unused services by Multichoice subscribers across the country.