Offokaja Foundation

Author: offokajafoundation

  • Unhappy Bank Customers: Offokaja Foundation Asks Court To Order Banking Ombudsman For Nigeria

    Unhappy Bank Customers: Offokaja Foundation Asks Court To Order Banking Ombudsman For Nigeria

    Nigeria may soon get an independent banking ombudsman empowered with binding powers to grant relief to wronged bank customers. This is one of the pleadings of the Prince and Princess Charles Offokaja Foundation Nigeria to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in a recent public interest litigation suit (ECW/CCJ/APP/50/22) brought before the international human rights court.

    The Plaintiffs, the Prince and Princess Charles Offokaja Foundation Nigeria and the Prince and Princess Charles Offokaja Foundation Switzerland are among other requests asking the court for:

    (e) An Order compelling Nigeria to, pending the passing of the Financial Ombudsman Bill into law and the operationalization of such law, and within 3 months of judgement by this Honourable Court, operationalize an interim, independent, effective and accessible financial ombudsman service where dissatisfied consumers have the option to escalate complaints not satisfactorily resolved by the Consumer Protection Department of the CBN within 3 months of escalation to the Department under the following interim conditions:

    1. There shall be an ombudsman service made up of an ombudsman board and an ombudsman office which shall be headed by an ombudsman
    2. The ombudsman board shall be appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria with five members from the banks representing the banks and six non-bank members to represent bank customers, with the chairperson also being a non-bank member.
    3. There shall be an ombudsman office headed by an ombudsman who shall function as the chief executive of the ombudsman office. The ombudsman shall not be a banker and shall not own shares in Nigeria’s banking sector at any time during his appointment.
    4. The ombudsman board shall elect the ombudsman for a non-renewable term of 3 years, and exercise oversight on his activities on behalf of the CBN. The ombudsman board shall also approve the annual budget of the ombudsman service subject to the final determination of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The ombudsman service shall be funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
    5. The ombudsman board shall not serve as an appellate body on the decisions of the ombudsman regarding complaints brought to the ombudsman office. The ombudsman board shall be appointed for a non-renewable term of 4 years.
    6. In handling consumer complaints escalated to it, the ombudsman shall have the authority to pass either binding awards (determinations) or non-binding awards (suggestions). The ombudsman office shall resolve complaints based on the delegated authority passed to them by the ombudsman.
    7. The ombudsman may award compensation not exceeding NGN3 million (in 2022 value) to the complainant for emotional/mental/ agony, social loss of reputation, and harassment. The ombudsman shall take into account such factors as the loss of the complainant’s business opportunities, loss of time and manhours, expenses incurred by the complainant, harassment, emotional and mental anguish suffered by the complainant while passing such award.
    8. Parties that don’t agree with a binding award of the ombudsman have the option of and right to appeal by going to the court of law.
    9. There shall be branches of the financial ombudsman office in all 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a Federal Capital branch in Abuja, as well as a head office at Abuja. There shall also be a website, telephone lines and social media handles to facilitate consumer access to the ombudsman service.
    10. The ombudsman office shall only deal with complaints escalated to it by parties dissatisfied with a resolution by the Consumer Protection Department of the Central Bank or after non-resolution of a previously escalated complaint by the Consumer Protection Department within a timeframe of at least 3 months.
    11. Except for cases of abuse of office or corruption, the ombudsman once appointed can only be removed by an unanimous vote of the non-bank members of the ombudsman board.
    12. The CBN shall by use of delegated legislation form and adapt a frame of reference for the ombudsman board and ombudsman office from the aspects of the Financial Ombudsman Bill as needed insofar as non of the above conditions are derogated from in the process.
    13. The Defendant’s Central Bank shall be able to change any of the above conditions by an Act of Nigeria’s Federal Legislature at any time. The Defendant’s Central Bank shall guarantee the operational independence of the interim financial ombudsman for as long as it exists. The moment the permanent ombudsman structure proposed in the Financial Ombudsman Bill is passed into law and becomes operational, it shall take over the functions of the above interim ombudsman service.

  • Why Gov’t Must Slash Prize Of Inhalers For Asthma

    Why Gov’t Must Slash Prize Of Inhalers For Asthma

    Since the exit of the pharmaceutical giants from the Nigeria the price of inhalers for asthma like Seretide and Ventolin have hit the roof. Investigations reveal that Seretide currently sells for up to N50,000 in some pharmacies.

    An online listing for the inhaler even listed it’s price as N70,000 in a country where the minimum monthly wage is N30,000. How would a worker earning N30,000 afford this inhaler for asthma if it isn’t subsidized?

    Asthma is a respiratory illness that can lead to medical emergency in a very short while if an inhaler isn’t around for the patient to use.

    The economy in Nigeria is in difficult straits. There’s a lot of unemployment and underemployment. Many people earn below N50,000 per month.

    One can imagine how difficult it would be for such a person to afford an asthma medication like Seretide. They have other essential needs, such as food which they have to spend on which could suffer. We know that lack of food itself can lead to health complications over time.

    This is where the government has to come in. There’s a need for the government to subsidize inhalers for asthma and indeed other critically needed medical products.

    But an issue as medical treatment must always be affordable. The right to health is a very basic right that should not be trifled with. And if medications become to expensive for millions of Nigerians, it’s not a good thing at all!

    There are not enough affordable ambulances in the country to quickly drive the sick to hospitals. So the sick need affordable prescription and over-the-counter medicines to prevent medical emergencies from occuring in the first place.

    Government also needs to urgently sit down with the pharmaceutical companies and find out their most urgent needs. This could slow down the rising trend of them divesting from the country.

  • Preparing For Our Xmas Season Food (And Clothes) Giveaway Event

    Xmas is around the corner. Yes, we know the Nigerian economy is in very difficult times. Yes, we know the price of foodstuff is skyrocketing (sometimes by the hour). Yes, we know many Nigerians now struggle to eat once a day.

    But the Offokaja Foundation is determined to put smiles on the faces of people in Nigeria, by doing the best we can to distribute food items. Clothing too.

    This is October, 2 months to December. But we have already started looking at how we can proactively take steps to reach out to donors who can make it happen even amidst the dificulty.

    We must never give up hope.

    But one advice we’ll like to leave you with is this: it’s not too late to start buying Xmas Season food.

    Recall that during Xmas, the prize of food items usually become even more expensive. We can understand that for clothing, the Xmas fashion style ‘is not yet out’. But for food items, there’s no style. Just good old nutrients.

  • Winners Of The Latest 11 Gigs Data Giveaway

    Winners of the 48 hours Data Giveaway Announced held on our media partner’s Igbodefender Facebook Group include Yusuf Isyaku, Oforbuzo Vivian, Mary Thompson, Njideka Chibuike, Dominic Edith, Winner Emeka, Prïñçé Yøwêl Jõhñ, Ebube Melody, Samuel Onyedikachi Nmereni, and Chigozie Philip, and they get 1gig each, Dominic Edith gets 2 Gigs.

    Prizes were provided by the Prince And Princess Charles Offokaja Foundation as part of our humanitarian program. In these difficult times in Nigeria, adequate internet data helps individuals look/apply for work, promote/perform their businesses and provides an avenue for distraction/diversions from depressing thoughts.

    See link to the giveaway

    Donate to support our humanitarian program. Many need our help.

  • 11 Gigs Data Giveaway

    We have provided 11 Gigs of internet data as prizes for a giveaway going on in the Facebook Group of our media partners Igbodefender.

    The Nigerian economy is in severe difficulty at the moment. Many unemployed or underemployed need the internet to search for jobs and to keep themselves happy.

    So, we decided to give them a chance to win some significant internet data. Want to join the giveaway for a chance to win? See giveaway link below:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/igbodefender/permalink/1040411407189172/?mibextid=Nif5oz.