Group Petitions 7-Up over Alleged Quality Compromise

James Emejo in Abuja

The Institute of Leadership for Policy Implementation (ILPI) has petitioned the 7-Up Bottling Company (SBC) over an alleged unwarranted risking of the public health space and violation of consumer rights and psyches with quality-compromised products.

The petition dated May 29, 2020 was signed by its legal counsel, Mr. Waziri Dada Ahmed and chairman of institute’s standardisation and industrial ethics monitoring committee, Dr. Tope Alabi, and addressed to the production manager of the beverage company.

The institute stated that an aggrieved consumer of the company’s product, Mr. Anthony Adejoh, had lodged a complaint with it, alleging to have bought a 35-CL volume glass bottle of 7-UP, a popular brand of the SBC from a shop in shop at the Gwagwalada axis of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The consumer allegedly upon close examination, discovered that the said soft drink was badly polluted and corrupted by a sputum-like suspension floating therein even with the bottle still uncorked.

“The complainer understandably strongly feels that the intolerably shocking experience must be squarely addressed, if only to alert the unsuspecting teeming consumers and safeguard the public health space of the nation in the critical and all-encompassing area of beverage consumption,” the petition read in part.

The institute had on behalf of the complainer, sought for legitimate redress from the company, urging the latter to unequivocally accept responsibility for the production and infiltration of the tainted soft drink into the Nigerian public health space with its potency of jeopardising not only the consumer’s health but also the generality of the consuming public.

The complainant also asked the company to tender unreserved open media apology to its teeming unsuspecting consumers for the unacceptable breach of quality assurance standards that might have most probably endangered undetected, the generality of the unsuspecting public.
Among other demands, the complainant also asked the company to expeditiously work out and expressly deliver through the institute appropriate and adequate compensation to assuage his badly battered psyche and consumer rights violation.

However, responding to the petition, SBC Senior Legal Manager, Oparations and Compliance, Mr. Obinna Chima, in a letter dated June 3, 2020, and directed to the institute, said as much as the company would be willing to engage the former over the issue, SBC had suspended all in-person meetings for now, citing its policy on the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to keep with best practices on health, safety and environment.
He insisted that the company would be wiling to have the meeting with the institute and the complaint at post- pandemic.

The institute has allegedly exhausted its patience while awaiting the company’s invitation.
Besides, it said the SBC’s post-pandemic timeline was a calculated ploy to jettison the issue adding that the company had since resumed full physical operations at its facilities as well as returned to full business.
The petition had given the company 14 days of receipt of correspondent to comply with the demands, failing which the aggrieved parties would take lawful steps to seek redress including involving appropriate regulatory authorities.