An examination of the legal and institutional frameworks for consumer protection in Nigeria: A case study of the deregulated electricity sector
Recently, the Nigerian electric utility lost its public service character following its deregulation. The electricity sector deregulation was executed despite bad consumers‘ experience in the earlier deregulated sectors on service quality, complaints handling and others. Adopting a socio-legal resea...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng eng |
| Published: |
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://etd.uum.edu.my/6138/1/s94490_01.pdf https://etd.uum.edu.my/6138/2/s94490_02.pdf |
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| Summary: | Recently, the Nigerian electric utility lost its public service character following its deregulation. The electricity sector deregulation was executed despite bad consumers‘ experience in the earlier deregulated sectors on service quality, complaints handling and others. Adopting a socio-legal research method, this thesis critically examines the legal and institutional frameworks for consumers‘ protection in the Nigerian deregulated electricity sector. The thesis was motivated by the state of the extant laws and the institutional arrangements for consumer protection; the lingering regulatory failure and rising consumer exploitations in the Nigerian electricity sector. The thesis‘s objectives are to examine the frameworks; the consumer redress mechanisms; and the challenges hindering electricity consumers‘ protection and redress in Nigeria. The data was collected through the library-based approach and twenty semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from consumer protection agencies such as the Consumer Protection Council, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria; lawyers in the academia; and the heads of consumer organisations. The thesis employed the interpretive doctrinal technique and the thematic analysis in analysing the legal materials and the interview data. The comparative analytical approach was also employed because comparison is useful in legal research. Guided by international standards and global best practices, the thesis found that the frameworks are deficient and limited in many aspects. It lacks provisions on consumer rights and remedies; its product-focused with less emphasis on services; and lacks competition law that are critical for consumer protection in deregulated environments. The thesis found that while regular courts are expensive and time consuming, the frameworks lack ideal institutional arrangements such as small claims court and consumer ombudsman. The thesis also found that consumer protection in Nigeria faces several challenges with lack of consumer awareness and underfunding of agencies being the prominent challenges. For the benefit of the consumers and industry, the thesis recommends comprehensive frameworks that integrate competition, consumer rights and remedies provisions. The thesis further recommends improvement to the legal aid scheme, the establishment of ideal consumer redress forums and efficient regulatory agencies for more effective consumer protection |
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