Tunji Bello

 

 

When Tunji Bello was appointed by the then Lagos State Governor,  the incumbent president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Head of the state’s signage regulatory agency, the Lagos State Advertisement and Signage Agency (LASAA), in 1999, little did anybody know that the accomplished journalist, lawyer, political scientist and environmentalist was being prepared for a distinguished and prolonged life in the public service space.

 

 

Bello, who later became the Commissioner for Environment, under the then governor,  Babatunde Fashola;  Secretary to the State Government, under Akinwunmi Ambode; and back to the Environment Ministry under the incumbent governor of the state, Babajide Sanwoolu, remains one of the rare chief executives of the signage agency that ran that office, with minimal damage to the interests of operators and stakeholders in the sector.

 

 

“Unlike others that came after him, he was a perfect gentleman, who ran LASAA at the formative stages of the agency, with a humane touch, without any serious impact on businesses and investments in the sector,” stated an outdoor ad practitioner, who would not want his name in print.

 

 

The announcement of Bello, on June 24, therefore, as the new helmsman  at the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC),  by the Federal government, after the abrupt exit of its former CEO, Mr. Babatunde Irukera,  since January,  this year, was not without its excitements and optimism of a better regulation of the consumer space, going by his antecedents in the various public offices he had occupied, since his appointment as LASAA boss in 1999.

 

 

But, while the nation  awaits the confirmation of the appointment of the new FCCPC boss by the national assembly, stakeholders on the nation’s consumer  space believe there are huge tasks awaiting the new LASAA boss.

 

 

For instance,  the biting economic times are not without their implications.  Many manufacturers, brands custodians, and others in the marketing mix are increasingly finding sharp practices and corner-cutting options attractive, of late, with the nation’s consumers, unfortunately, being at the receiving end. Instances of such practices abound!

 

Not too long ago, FCCPC had to seal some supermarkets in Abuja for inconsistencies in their pricings, and also embark on a tour of the nation’s open markets to determine the root causes of food inflation, despite series of intervention coming from the federal government.

 

 

Also, very recently, the Commission, acting on intelligence report, paid unscheduled visits to some steel manufacturing companies in Ogun State. The aim  was to ascertain those companies’ compliance  to standards, in the production of their materials, and also ensure the rights of the Nigerian consumers were not compromised. Investigations are still on, regarding this, with the Commission promising to make its findings known in due course.

 

 

Interestingly, one of those things Bello would need to contend with, on resumption of office, is the fact that he will be taking charge of an agency, which interventionist’s efforts are not restricted to one sector of the economy, but must have a hand in every consumer pie. Fortunately, in the past few years, the Commission has been doing that, making its impact felt in every sector of the economy.

 

 

Recently, it secured the conviction of a Lagos Surgeon,   Dr. Aanuoluwapo Adepoju, at the Federal High Court, Lagos, over a failed plastic surgery; while in December 2023, it got the British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria fined for $110m for violating control laws.

 

 

The power sector is not spared either. The commission’s town hall meetings at different times, providing a platform for stakeholders, comprising the Distribution companies, the regulatory agencies, such as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the consumers, and others in the sector, to vent their feelings, are some of its efforts at regulating and ensuring sanity in the power sector.

 

 

But, as huge as these feats may seem, not a few stakeholders believe they are a mere drop in an ‘ocean’ filled with assaults on consumer rights.

 

 

Besides, these stakeholders  would, also,  readily attribute those feats to the purposeful  leadership of those that had  earlier occupied the seat, especially, the immediate Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Babatunde Irukera. It’son record that Irukera increased the tempo of activities in the Commission and  gave the job his best shot while there.

 

 

Here comes Bello….

 

 

The question, therefore, is how ready and well-equipped is the new helmsman  to continue  from where Irukera has stopped.

 

 

Interestingly, not a few will respond in the affirmative. They believe Bello, who had been a part of every government of Lagos State, since 1999, has what it takes to perform in this highly tasking office. His multi-sidedness, they argued, put him in good stead to successfully steer the ship of the Commission safely.

 

 

 

For instance, besides being an accomplished journalist, a lawyer and an environmentalist, the new helmsman at FCCPC is described as the most distinguished civil servant in the history of Lagos State, due to his performances in the different offices he held in the state’s civil service, from 1999, until few months ago.

 

 

Besides being cerebral and proactive, not a few industry watchers believed the experiences garnered, by Bello, as the Head, Lagos Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), under the then Governor Bola Tinubu administration; Commissioner for Environment in both  Babatunde Fashola, and Babajide Sanwoolu’s regime;  and Secretary to the State Government, under former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, put him in good stead to  successfully steer the boat of FCCPC.

 

 

During his tenure as Environment Commissioner, the lawyer, political scientist, and environmentalist, they argued, was able to create and restore the people’s confidence in the environment through some innovations he brought to that office, resulting in a much-friendlier environment, and the creation of over 30,000 direct job opportunities, in that space, in the first two years of Sanwoolu’s administration.

 

 

Moreover, his tenure at LASAA made him one of the few chief executives of the state’s regulatory agency that did minimum damage to the business interests of outdoor advertising operators in the state.

 

 

Therefore, as stakeholders await the coming of the new FCCPC boss,  optimism is high in the sky that the accomplished media executive will replicate  some of the feats recorded by the erstwhile chief executives of the Commission,  thus  making the consumer space safer for the nation’s consuming public.