Agency warns oil marketers against anti-competitive practices

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ( FCCPC) has urged oil marketers to shun anti-competitive practices.

Such practices, it said, include restrictive agreements (cartels) and abuse of dominance and mergers, which violate the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.

Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, spoke at a workshop organised by the commission in collaboration with the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) in Lagos.

He noted that the petroleum industry was very important to the development of the country and any form of volatility in prices of petroleum products affect other sectors of the economy.

According to him, the commission has a duty to protect consumers from any form of exploitation by marketers and will continue to engage with MOMAN to enforce compliance.

Chairman of MOMAN, Mr Olumide Adeosun, believes the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act presents limitless opportunities for the downstream sector if properly implemented.

Adeosun said MOMAN members were committed to adhering to the objective of the FCCPA which include promoting and maintaining competitive markets in the Nigerian economy and promoting economic efficiency.

He said they were also committed to protecting and promoting the interests and welfare of consumers by providing them with wider variety of quality products at competitive prices and contributing to sustainable national development.

The MOMAN chairman reiterated that the association was not a cartel and was not involved in the manipulation of the prices of petroleum products especially Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country

Adeosun said MOMAN was working towards the development of a sustainable downstream sector with members sharing infrastructure such as depots and pipelines for cost optimisation.

Chief Executive Officer, MOMAN, Mr Clement Isong, said the overall goal of the workshop was to sensitise marketers on what constitutes anti-competitive and anti-trust behaviour within the sector.

Isong said the FCCPC exists to protect consumers, adding that collaboration between both parties would help improve service delivery in the petroleum industry.

He, however noted that fixing prices for petroleum products by the Federal Government was anti-competitive, stressing that the sector must be liberalised to attract more investments.