TRIANGULAR CONSUMERISM: A CONSUMER PROTECTION FRAMEWORK UNDER THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ACT (PIA) 2021

Abstract

The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 produced a solid consumer protection regime. The law contains a legal and institutional framework, which grounds consumerism. Employing the triangle analogy, this work argued that within the bracket of the framework is a three-fold agency otherwise known as triangular consumerism. It adds that while the framework advocates consumerism, the law is not so clear on consumer inclusivity especially as it relates to regulation consultation. The work quizzed the vagueness of the place of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, and asks whether the FCCPC and the principal consumer protection agent (Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority) shares equal place. The work also asked if at all, the principal agent is of any quasi-judicial nature. It identifies as certain, the angle of the service providers in the framework, but queried their powers to make the consumer’s service code, against the backdrop of the prevailing regulatory power of the principal agent.