By: Amos Odeh, Yenagoa.
The Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in Bayelsa State said it has received a total of 5,000 complaints from 2024 to till date in the state.
The Federal Commissioner, Hon. Ineye Ronke Binawari, who disclosed this during the 50 years anniversary celebration of PCC, said out of the 5,000 complaints, 3,000 have been treated and 2,000 remain ongoing.
Binawari said the 50 years celebration, tagged: “50 Years of Promoting Administrative Justice”, is a clear show of trust and acceptance by the people of the state in resolving issues of rights violations by the State and Federal establishments.
She said despite the shortage of funds, the PCC in Bayelsa State is reaffirming its commitment to uphold the principles of fairness, accountability and service to humanity, which very principles he said have been the cornerstone of its mandate since its inception in 1997.
The commissioner said over the years, the Public Complaint Commission, as an organ of the Government, has redressed complaints lodged by aggrieved citizens against administrative injustice and thus presents a platform that gives every Nigerian and foreigner resident in the country, the opportunity to seek redress and obtain justice at no financial cost.
”Over the past five decades, the Commission has, to its credit, championed fairness, transparency, and good governance by ensuring that the ordinary everyday citizen has access to justice outside the conventional court system.”
” The Public Complaints Commission has expanded from a single Federal office in Lagos in 1975, to all the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT, handling, on an annual basis, hundreds of thousands of complaints and securing justice mostly for the common man and the underprivileged on issues ranging from wrongful dismissal, delayed pensions, salary arrears and land issues to administrative excesses and plain abuse of administrative authority by public officers and public office holders.”
”Employing the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods of conciliation, arbitration and mediation, the Commission has played a very vital role in decongesting the courts. Recent years have also seen further innovations such as the establishment of a radio station, digital complaint channels, call centres, and community sensitisation programmes designed to make the Commission’s services more accessible and responsive.”
”The Public Complaints Commission is now fifty (50) years old, and it is fitting, in view of this milestone existence and performance of its core functions and achievements, that it is celebrating this golden jubilee at the headquarters and in the thirty-six (36) State offices and the FCT.”
