The Director General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Imo State, Hon. Mrs Obioma Okafor with the Board and management of Imo State Universial Basic Education Board (IMSUBEB) on Tuesday, 7th September, 2021 agreed to collaborate to sensitize primary and secondary school students in all the Local Government Areas in imo state. The programme is titled *catch them young initiative,* which aimed at educating our children to know their basic rights as consumers.
This agreement was reached when the DG CPC paid a courtesy visit to the office of the Board chairman of IMSUBEB, Her Excellency, Dr. Lady Ada Okwuonu, who was respresented by the Board secretary, Hon. Chidiebere Egbuo.The CPC Boss really had extensive discussion with board members and management of IMSUBEB on how to realise this project before the end of next month.
Some of their discussions centred mostly on mutual collaboration for more robust consumer education to our children in primary and secondary schools. Also, they both underscored the urgent need for broad, focused and strategic intervention in the problem of consumer rights abuse, adulteration and counterfeiting prevalent in our society.
According to Mrs Okafor, the programme will go a long way to sensitize and also awaken the consciousness in our children to insist on their rights as consumers, whenever the need arises. “As part of CPC mandate to educate the consumers, this time, we want to focus more on our children. Our target is to have a wider consumer education, where we’ll reachout to the younger ones, who are the future leaders of this nation”. And to realise this laudable project, there’s need for collective sacrifices and strong synergy between imo state CPC and IMSUBEB, she said.
Mrs Okafor further stated that IMSUBEB will assist Imo CPC to organise the schools in all the 27 LGA’s in imo state, both private and public schools for the programme. Mrs Obioma was uptimistic that the programme will attract the sponsorship of some notable philantropists, political leaders and religious bodies, etc.
Emphasizing on the importance of this initiative to imolites, particularly the younger ones, the DG said, it is part of the efforts of CPC in partnership with IMSUBEB in the implementation of the 3R mantra of His Excellency, Dist. Senator Hope Uzodimma in Imo State. *Catch them young initiative* is a project that falls within the context of “Recovery” in the 3R of the shared prosperity programme of Gov. Hope Uzodimma in the state.
The board secretary, Hon. Chidiebere Egbuo who represented the board chairman, IMSUBEB, Her Execellency Dr. Lady Ada Okwuonu, thanked the DG CPC and her team for such laudable initiative. He endorsed the partnership, noting that the synergy exemplifies the best possible strategy to drive home the 3R policy of Senator Hope Uzodimma.
Hon. Chidiebere also expressed confidence that the programme will definitely make our state a consumer rights compliance which grantees quality, standards and healthy leaving.
The major outcome of the meeting was a mutual commitment to jointly deploy the assets and resources of the two agencies for joint project execution for the best interest of consumers.
Other members of the board of IMSUBEB who joined in the meeting are Hon. Alex Ogbazuo, the board member representing Orlu zone, Hon. Bright Nwachukwu, board member representing Okigwe zone and some management staff of INSUBEB.
