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Tag: FCCPC

  • Network disruptions: FCCPC warns banks, wants swift services restoration 

    Network disruptions: FCCPC warns banks, wants swift services restoration 

    The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has warned banks against customers’rights violation due to constant online banking services disruptions.

    A statement issued by Mr Tunji Bello, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC in Abuja on Tuesday, said the FCCPC Act allowed consumers to seek redress for services that did not meet the necessary standards.

    He called on banks and financial institutions to take swift action to restore services, prioritise customer support, and enhance communication to manage customer expectations transparently and responsibly.

    Bello said the Commission was currently reviewing the situation to determine if consumers’ rights to redress were being upheld.

    Bello said the Commission was also reviewing the situation to determine if more action was needed to enforce accountability.

    He said the disruptions, which had hindered customers from accessing their funds, making payments, and carrying out essential transactions, had negatively impacted millions and had serious implications for individuals and businesses.

    According to him, under the FCCPC Act (FCCPA) 2018, bank customers have specific rights to guarantee fair and accountable service delivery.

    ”FCCPC is deeply concerned about the continuing disruptions in online banking services across Nigeria.

    ‘:A key provision is the right to quality service, which mandates that all service providers, including banks, maintain acceptable levels of functionality and reliability.

    ”When banks cannot maintain access to essential financial services, they are arguably failing to meet this standard, potentially leading to significant financial hardship, loss of trust in the banking system, and damage to the overall economy.

    ”The FCCPA further grants consumers the right to reasonable access to goods and services, a principle that is compromised when technical failures impede customers’ access to their own funds.

    ”During service disruption, it is essential that banks keep their customers fully informed about the causes, scope, and anticipated duration of any service issues.

    Read Also: FCCPC boss blames food inflation on hoarders

    ”Regrettably, many consumers are left in the dark, a situation that increases frustration and leaves customers feeling unsupported.

    ”The FCCPA allows consumers to seek redress for services that do not meet the necessary standards.

    ”As such, bank customers can seek redress, if they are adversely affected by substandard services,” he said.

    Bello said the FCCPC was working with relevant regulatory authorities, financial institutions, and stakeholders to address these disruptions and ensure the protection of customers.

    He said the Commission would pursue all necessary actions to ensure the protection of the FCCPAct. (NAN)

  • FCCPC to the rescue

    FCCPC to the rescue

    • About time DisCos’ feet were put in the fire to restore long-suffering customers’ rights

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) are pushing the rights of consumers against the over-indulged electricity distribution companies (DisCos).  That’s good news, at last!

    NERC is the electricity market regulator.  FCCPC is the overall champion of consumer rights in a market economy.  Hitherto, NERC had hee-hawed but given the DisCos too much leeway, particularly on the vexed issue of estimated billing.  Might it then be right to say its new pro-consumer lobby is due more to FCCPC’s insistence?  Whatever the case, it’s a good and welcome move.

    Also, it’s significant that both are coming together on the matter of meters, the spine that secures DisCo revenues, but which DisCos had hitherto treated with levity — because they could resort to the highly fraudulent estimated billing, with which they fleece electricity consumers.

    If both walk their talk — and it is imperative they do — that era of estimated billing should come to an end.  Everyone would be better served: the DisCos would charge fairly, the consumers would pay for power they had enjoyed, and the market would be far better for it.

    What’s more?  The DisCos would enjoy a better cash flow balance since, in the routine household market, the meters are prepaid; and power blinks off immediately the money loaded in the token runs out.  That results in a twin-motivation: DisCos, get being paid before service; consumers, re-vend to avert a blackout.  It’s a win-win.

    It’s also significant that things are coming to a head with the imminent phase-out of the Unistar prepaid meter.  Ikeja Electric Plc (I.E.) — which has the biggest market of all the DisCos — has pronto hinted that after the meter’s phase-out date of November 14, its long-suffering customers might have to purchase another meter, since they risked not being able to vend — buy — electricity again.  This is because Unistar’s Token Identifier is progressively difficult to update.  The meter has been in use for 10 years.

    Now, this panic-inducing call is unfair and unconscionable on at least two grounds: the DisCos — in any case their vendors — supplied consumers the meters; so, if it became outdated, the DisCos should replace them.  Fairness says so.  Common sense bawls it even louder.  If meters are critical to DisCo revenues, why would DisCos muscle customers buy meters for DisCos — because they have estimate billing to fall back to?

    Read Also: FCCPC boss blames food inflation on hoarders

    These two grounds lead to an even more fundamental third: meters are the properties of DisCos, not consumers.  So, why should consumers buy DisCos crucial spine to gather their revenue and run their business?

    This is why the twin-response, from NERC and FCCPC, is heart-warming.

    First, NERC, per its vice chairman, Musiliu Oseni, dispelled the I.E. prime fear factor: “although there are progressive Unistar Token Identifier Rollover worries, there is no official directive — in any case, not from the market regulator — to phase out the meters, talk less of setting a definite date.”  He added that whatever announcements on its replacement had been DisCo individual initiatives.

    But even if it reached the situation that customers could no longer load electricity tokens, no customer should be placed on estimated billing, or be denied access to electricity.  Even if customers agree — or are persuaded to buy meters under the meter access programme (MAP) framework, DisCos must refund customers and provide a clear method to do so.  But this is yet another NERC hee-haw that gifts DisCos the leeway they always abuse.  DisCos should replace faulty meters — simple!

    The FCCPC was clear: It’s DisCos’ business to replace phased out meters, while it pledged to be stout champion of consumer rights in the electricity market and elsewhere.

    “We cannot allow consumers to be unfairly charged or placed on estimated billings,” Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC’s director of special duties, declared.  “This would be a violation of existing regulations.”  Well said!

    But after the talk, it’s time to move into vigorous action.  NERC and FCCPC should mount a blitz of public enlightenment on consumer rights under the electricity market law.  Such a blitz should put DisCos under tremendous pressure to do what is right — by themselves — for once, instead of using cunning and fear to prey on the consumer.

    DisCos must imbibe a culture of supplying their customer meters — which the DisCos own.  Both NERC and FCCPC must enforce that culture.  That’s the only way the electricity market can be fair and equitable to all.  Right now, it’s criminally skewed toward supply, thus taking consumers for a jolly ride.

  • FCCPC boss blames food inflation on hoarders

    FCCPC boss blames food inflation on hoarders

    ‘Unscrupulous actors’  are the major contributors to food inflation in the country, says the Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission (FCCPC).

    Other causes, according to the commission, are price fixing by bad eggs and entrance levies imposed by market associations. 

    FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Tunji Bello said with time, ’all the bad eggs’ engaged in hoarding, artificial market creation, price fixing, and gouging, would be checkmated by the government.

    Bello  added that  “unethical practices” remained offences punishable under sections 18(3)(c), 62,63,66(1),108 of the FCCP Act 2018.

    He spoke during a town hall meeting with industry captains, Micro, small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), market leaders, farmers, transporters, and service providers in Kano. 

    Noting that the  Act prescribes stiff penalties ranging from heavy fine to jail terms for offenders,  he told the  stakeholders that the commission chose to, first, explore the option of dialogue in the “spirit of democracy.”

    Bello explained that FCCP investigators found out that the  unscrupulous produce merchants were in the habit of  mopping up and hoarding  newly harvested grains from farms and markets, thereby ‘’endangering our national food security.’’

    His words: “Without caring for the consequences of their action on fellow countrymen and women, some of these unscrupulous actors go as far as taking some of the food items they had mopped up from farmers or the markets and smuggle them across the borders to sell at a premium.

    Read Also: Strategies to cope with biting food inflation

    “Don’t get us wrong; we are by no means saying everyone is guilty here. We only have a few bad eggs involved in such unethical practices. It is therefore our collective responsibility to work together to achieve reasonable pricing of goods and services, especially at a time the country is undergoing bold economic reforms which may bring temporary discomfort today but will usher a better economy for us tomorrow.”

    Bello consequently solicited the support of the Kano State stakeholders to curb the unwholesome practice in the national interest.

    Listing the gains of an earlier engagement by the commission in Lagos, Bello noted that President Bola Tinubu had already responded to some of the yearnings of the stakeholders in the form of new policies.

    He said:  “We have a very listening President.   He feels for the people, shares their pains, and is ever willing to go the extra mile to cushion the effects of the hardship the ongoing economic reforms have brought.

     “The Federal Government has also commenced the implementation of zero Value Added Tax (VAT) and excise duties on pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Just as a number of taxes have also been removed to assist micro, small, medium enterprises as well as taxes being removed from public transportation.”

    The Executive Vice-Chairman urged the stakeholders to be patriotic by sharing the gains of the concessions granted them by the government with the consumers.

    “For instance, when the government assists the operators of public transportation with easy credits to convert their vehicles from petrol to relatively far cheaper CNG(Compressed Natural Gas), we don’t expect them to charge the same fares as those who buy petrol,” Bello said.

  • DisCos must bear cost of replacing phased-out meters, says FCCPC

    DisCos must bear cost of replacing phased-out meters, says FCCPC

    The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has said it is initiating discussions with Ikeja Electric (IE) and other Distribution Companies (Discos) to clarify the phase-out process and ensure that DisCos bear the cost of replacing phased-out meters, without imposing extra charges on consumers.

    This is just as concerns continue to grow among electricity consumers over the phase-out of Unistar prepaid meters by Ikeja Electric Plc and other electricity distribution companies (DisCos).

    Recall that some Discos had announced that the Unistar prepaid meters which were first deployed over a decade ago will no longer be supported from November 14, 2024, due to technological upgrades and the Token Identifier (TID) rollover issue.

    In a statement signed by the Director, Special Duties and Strategic Communication, Ondaje Ijagwu, the commission noted that “the FCCPC has observed rising anxiety among consumers over potential financial burdens, particularly whether they will be required to cover the cost of replacement meters. Further concerns relate to the possibility of consumers being placed on arbitrary estimated billing during this transition which would violate existing rules. These concerns have been worsened by insufficient communication from the DisCos about the phase-out process, leading to uncertainty and distrust.

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    “In line with its mandate to protect consumers and promote fairness in the Nigerian marketplace, the FCCPC is actively engaging key stakeholders, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), and the eleven (11) DisCos. The goal is to make the metering process transparent and accountable while protecting consumer interests,” the statement said.

    Ondaje added that the Commission will also work to ensure that DisCos comply with regulatory guidelines, preventing consumers from being unfairly charged or placed on estimated billing. Additionally, the FCCPC will ramp up consumer education on their rights, especially regarding metering and electricity billing, to prevent exploitation.

    He said: “the FCCPC is committed to preventing any disadvantage to consumers during this meter upgrade. This intervention is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda, aimed at ensuring fair treatment for Nigerian consumers and access to essential services like electricity. The Commission will continue to advocate for Nigerian consumers and ensure that service providers, including DisCos, act in a consumer-friendly, fair, and transparent manner.”

  • Consumer commission, stakeholders join forces against pricing exploitation

    Consumer commission, stakeholders join forces against pricing exploitation

    Consumer commission yesterday took its advocacy against arbitrary price fixing to Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital.

    Last month the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Olatunji Bello, stepped out for the first time after his appointment to meet with stakeholders in Abuja and talked tough about price gauging.

    The agency insisted on stopping exploitation of consumers by traders.

    The commission said it is wrong to hinge the manipulative and arbitrary price hike on the temporary economic difficulties.

    At a one-day town hall meeting at Oregun, industry representatives and market leaders condemned the abnormal price fixing, hoarding, and artificial inflation, describing them as unethical.

    The venue was filled with market leaders from various industries, including farmers, traders, NGOs, and the telecommunications sector. The large turnout made the gathering feel like a marketplace of ideas, uniting stakeholders from across Nigeria’s economy, from telecom providers to agricultural leaders.

    The presence of industrialists, service providers, and representatives from the Restaurant and Eateries Association, as well as manufacturers, added to the diversity.

    Banners promoting consumer protection and fair market practices emphasised the call for joint action against exploitation.

    Seating was thoughtfully arranged to encourage interaction, with a large screen displaying key points and FCCPC branding reinforcing the meeting’s purpose.

    The venue buzzed with conversations as participants exchanged ideas on addressing economic challenges.

    Industry leaders and consumer advocacy groups shared their perspectives on the impact of unethical practices of price gauging and hoarding, highlighting the need for collaborative solutions.

    The Director-General of National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Olusola Obadimu, called for a unified economic policy that would address the foreign exchange crisis and electricity pricing.

    According to the stakeholders, indiscriminate price hike had exacerbated the already high cost of living, thereby pushing many Nigerians into hardship.

    Bello decried the manipulative high prices of food and household items, and lamented that some traders have formed cartels and imposed excessive fees, which have artificially raised prices beyond reasonable margins.

    Bello, a consummate journalist, administrator and lawyer, warned that these illegal actions have contributed to the economic strain being felt by ordinary Nigerians.

    He said FCCPC was aware of the activities of traders coordinating price hikes and manipulating the market to exploit consumers.

    Tendering vital statistics, Bello alluded to a locally manufactured blender sold in Lagos markets for N950,000, while the same product was being sold for N140,000 in the United States.

    He said: “This is not just an issue of inflation or economic challenges, it is deliberate manipulation.”

    Bello emphasised that such practices violated Section 17 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits anti-competitive and exploitative behavior in the marketplace.

    He said although the FCCPC has the authority to impose fines up to N10 million and jail terms up to three years for offenders, it is disposed to resolving issues through dialogue and collaboration

    A key initiative introduced during the town hall meeting was the enhancement of the FCCPC’s consumer engagement platform, which allows consumers to lodge complaints about unfair market practices in real-time.

    Bello explained that the platform provided them with a direct channel to report issues and seek redress.

    Read Also: Consumer commission to meet market leaders over goods’ prices

    He stressed: “We want to hear directly from consumers and address their grievances swiftly. This new portal will be an essential tool in ensuring that.

    “The platform is designed to streamline the complaint process and ensure faster resolutions, making it easier for consumers to challenge exploitative practices.”

    FCCPC Executive Commissioner Dr. Abdullahi Adamu elaborated on the Commission’s efforts to combat price gauging.

    He condemned the practice of raising prices multiple times in a single day, particularly in markets with high-demand goods like food and fuel.

    Adamu called on market associations to halt collective price manipulation, warning that these actions violate the Nigerian competition laws.

    He added: “We have observed instances where prices are raised three to four times in one day. This is unacceptable, and it undermines consumer trust.

    “Market associations are free to exist, but when they set prices collectively, it becomes a violation. We must ensure that the market remains competitive and fair.”

    The Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Chief Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, called for empathy and fairness in the pricing practices of traders.

    She said the burden of high prices should not be unfairly transferred to consumers, many of whom are already facing financial difficulties.

    Tinubu-Ojo said: “Our African cultural spirit centers around empathy for the weak. Let’s ensure our pricing reflects that, rather than striving for abnormal profits. “

    The market leader acknowledged that traders are facing many challenges, including multiple taxes and cost of transportation caused by police checkpoints along major supply routes.

    She said traders and consumers should share the burden and find a middle ground that prevents undue exploitation.

    The Iyaloja-General, who urged government to streamline its taxation policies, suggested that taxes paid in one state should remain valid across the country to prevent multiple levies from being imposed on goods.

    The General Manager of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LACOPA), Afolabi Solabo, condemned inordinate profit making.

    He cited examples of petrol stations charging consumers an additional N50 after they had already paid for fuel.

    Solabo said: “This exploitation must stop. Businesses should not take advantage of the difficult situation to further burden consumers.”

    He also called for a collective action in bid to resolve the pricing crisis.

    Solabo praised efforts by the Lagos State government to alleviate some of these pressures through food discount markets, which offer affordable food items to consumers.

    He said: “These initiatives are a step in the right direction and help ease the burden on the people.”

    The Executive Director of the Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEf), Prof. Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, raised the alarm over the growing food insecurity.

    She pointed out that the cost of basic food items, such as a crate of eggs, spiked from N4,000 to N5,000 in a few months.

    Ndukwe-Okafor attributed the increase to the activities of middlemen who exploit farmers and multiple taxes imposed at different stages of the supply chain.

    She said: “If we do not address this issue soon, we risk plunging deeper into a food crisis.”

    Udukwe-Okafor urged government to temporarily suspend certain taxes on food and transportation to ease the burden on consumers.

  • FCCPC to traders: we seek your partnership to curb consumers’ exploitation

    FCCPC to traders: we seek your partnership to curb consumers’ exploitation

    …introduces interactive portal for complaints

    The Federal Competition and Consumers Protection Commission (FCCPC) has called on the stakeholders in the production and distribution value chain of the economy to join the crusade to curb price fixing and other unethical practices.

    The call was made by FCCPC boss, Mr. Tunji Bello, in Lagos on Wednesday, September 11, while addressing a hall pack full of captains of large/small-scale industries, leaders of market associations, transport operators, and service providers at a town hall meeting hosted by the commission.

    According to him, the meeting was necessitated by startling discoveries made by the commission during a survey conducted nationwide.

    “We discovered that some traders form cartels in the markets and put barriers in the form of ridiculous membership fees intended to ensure price fixing in the market. Without joining them, they won’t allow anyone to sell goods in the market or provide services.

    Read Also: UNGA 79: Dennis Francis bows out as Cameroon’s Philemon Yang assumes office

    “Such practices are against the law and constitute some of the offences the Commission is against,” said the FCCPC boss.

    He added: “The purpose of the town-hall meeting initiative is to engage you the stakeholders in the production and retail segment of the market as well as service providers, to hear your own stories, with a view to achieving a consensus for the benefit of all of us.”

    The Lagos stakeholders’ meeting is a sequel to the one held in Abuja two weeks ago.

    The FCCPC initiative comes at a time when Nigerians are facing significant increases in food prices and transportation costs nationwide.

    While acknowledging that the exchange rate and the increase in petrol price make the old prices unsustainable, Bello however frowned at disproportionate increases in the prices of food items which he said are often perpetrated by “cartels” to exploit consumers.

    Despite having legal authority to take strong action against offenders, Bello stated that the FCCPC is initially pursuing dialogue to reach a consensus on addressing these issues.

    According to Section 17 of the FCCP Act, the Commission is empowered to eliminate anti-competitive practices and deceptive marketing, with sanctions including fines of up to N10 million and a three-year jail term for convicted individuals.

    To facilitate a better engagement, Bello disclosed that the FCCPC has upgraded its portal through which aggrieved consumers could lodge a complaint and their grievances would be addressed promptly.

    On the economic outlook, Bello stated that the removal of taxes on imported food items, pharmaceutical products, and transportation was part of measures being taken by the Tinubu administration to cushion the effects of the reforms introduced to reposition the Nigerian economy.

    He sought the cooperation of the traders to ensure that the consumers get the benefits through reduced prices.

    “Such laudable measures by President Tinubu would however be in vain if the benefits are not passed down to the consumers,” said Bello.

  • Price control, not our mandate- FCCPC

    Price control, not our mandate- FCCPC

    The Federal Consumer Competition Protection Commission has stated that price control is entirely outside the scope of its responsibilities.

    The agency stated further that its recent directive to businesses is not about controlling price but curbing the exploitative practices and anti-competitive practices.

    While responding to the concerns of the organized private sector which frowned at the recent directive of the agency, it stated that “At the FCCPC, our mandate is to safeguard consumers from unfair and deceptive practices and to ensure robust competition across all sectors.

    “We categorically assert that prices in a competitive marketplace are determined solely by the forces of supply and demand. Price control is entirely outside the scope of our responsibilities. We have never considered, nor will we ever consider, intervening in the market to regulate prices. Any claims to the contrary are baseless and unfounded.

    “Our recent directives are not about controlling prices but are focused on curbing exploitative practices and anti-competitive behaviors that distort the marketplace and harm consumers,” noted the Commission in a press release signed by Ondaje Ijagwu, Director, (Special Duties & Strategic Communication).

    Recently, the FCCPC had threatened to penalize businesses involved in price fixing and gouging, issuing a month moratorium for them to reduce prices.

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    In the press statement, the Commission said it “appreciates the feedback provided by the Organised Private Sector and other interested parties regarding our recent directive to businesses to cease price gouging, price fixing, and other exploitative practices. We value this dialogue and wish to clarify our position.”

    The Commission reiterated that price gouging is an unfair practice that takes advantage of crises or economic hardships to inflate prices arbitrarily, while price fixing occurs when competitors or market associations, without their own products, collude to set prices.

    Acknowledging the complexities of the current economic environment, including challenges such as foreign exchange fluctuations and fuel subsidy removal, it said that  these factors certainly impact pricing, but they do not excuse or justify exploitative practices that are anti-consumer.

    It said that the Commission’s proposed actions in the retail sector are targeted and evidence-based, responding to specific instances where consumers are vulnerable to such exploitation.

    “Discoveries made during our market surveillance and a recent disclosure by Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Cement, underscore the critical need for our oversight,” noted the Agency.

    “Mr. Rabiu revealed that despite BUA Cement’s effort to sell cement at a fair price of N3,500 per bag, their plan was undermined by dealers who inflated prices to as much as N7,000 to N8,000 per bag. This situation exemplifies the kind of exploitative conduct that the FCCPC is committed to addressing. Such practices make it difficult for ethical businesses to thrive.”

    While promoting competition is essential for economic health, as evidenced in sectors like telecommunications, the Agency noted that “it is equally important to enforce laws against practices that undermine fair competition. The FCCPC remains committed to a balanced approach that respects the dynamics of a free market while ensuring that consumers are protected from harmful practices.

  • ‘FCCPC’s focus not on price fixing but safeguarding consumers’ interest’

    ‘FCCPC’s focus not on price fixing but safeguarding consumers’ interest’

    The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said price fixing is not within the scope of its responsibilities.

    The commission said it had never considered or will ever consider intervening in the market to regulate prices.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its Director of Special Duties, Strategic Communication, Mr. Ondaje Ijagwu, FCCPC noted that prices in a competitive marketplace are determined solely by the forces of supply and demand.

    Any claims to the contrary, it stressed, are baseless and unfounded.

    Read Also: FCCPC, EFCC pledge to protect consumers from exploitation

    “Our recent directives are not about controlling prices but are focused on curbing exploitative practices and anti-competitive behaviours that distort the marketplace and harm consumers,” FCCPC said.

    The commission said it granted a one-month moratorium before enforcement, providing businesses with the necessary time to adjust their unethical practices and ensuring full compliance with laws that protect consumers and foster fair competition.

    According to the commission, price gouging is an unfair practice that takes advantage of crises or economic hardships to inflate prices arbitrarily, while price fixing occurs when competitors or market associations, without their own products, collude to set prices.

    “We recognise the complexities of the current economic environment, including challenges, such as foreign exchange fluctuations and fuel subsidy removal. These factors certainly impact pricing but they do not excuse or justify exploitative practices that are anti-consumer,” it said.

    The commission’s proposed actions in the retail sector are targeted and evidence-based, responding to specific instances where consumers are vulnerable to such exploitation.

    It added: “Discoveries made during our market surveillance and a recent disclosure by Abdul Samad Rabiu (Chairman of BUA Cement), underscore the critical need for our oversight.

    “Mr. Rabiu revealed that despite BUA Cement’s effort to sell cement at a fair price of N3,500 per bag, their plan was undermined by dealers who inflated prices to as much as N7,000 to N8,000 per bag. This situation exemplifies the kind of exploitative conduct that the FCCPC is committed to addressing. Such practices make it difficult for ethical businesses to thrive.

    “While promoting competition is essential for economic health, as evidenced in sectors like telecommunications, it is equally important to enforce laws against practices that undermine fair competition. The FCCPC remains committed to a balanced approach that respects the dynamics of a free market while ensuring that consumers are protected from harmful practices.”

  • Price control entirely out of scope of our responsibility, says FCCPC

    Price control entirely out of scope of our responsibility, says FCCPC

    The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has stated that it is not within its responsibilities to control prices.

    The commission said it has never intervened in the market to regulate prices and has no intention to do so in the future.

    In a statement signed by the Director, Special Duties, Strategic Communication, Ondaje Ijagwu, the commission said that prices in a competitive marketplace are determined solely by the forces of supply and demand. Any claims to the contrary are baseless.

    He said: “Our recent directives are not about controlling prices but are focused on curbing exploitative practices and anti-competitive behaviours that distort the marketplace and harm consumers.

    “The commission has granted a one-month moratorium before enforcement begins, providing businesses with the necessary time to adjust their practices and ensure full compliance with laws aimed at protecting consumers and fostering fair competition.”

    The statement further added that the FCCPC appreciates the feedback provided by the Organised Private Sector and other interested parties regarding the recent directive to businesses to cease price gouging, price fixing, and other exploitative practices.

    “We value this dialogue and wish to clarify our position. Price gouging according to FCCPC is an unfair practice that takes advantage of crises or economic hardships to inflate prices arbitrarily, while price fixing occurs when competitors or market associations, without their products, collude to set prices.

    “We recognise the complexities of the current economic environment, including challenges such as foreign exchange fluctuations and fuel subsidy removal. These factors certainly impact pricing, but they do not excuse or justify exploitative practices that are anti-consumer. The Commission’s proposed actions in the retail sector are targeted and evidence-based, responding to specific instances where consumers are vulnerable to such exploitation.

    Read Also: FCCPC, EFCC pledge to protect consumers from exploitation

    “Discoveries made during our market surveillance and a recent disclosure by Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Cement, underscore the critical need for our oversight. Mr. Rabiu revealed that despite BUA Cement’s effort to sell cement at a fair price of N3,500 per bag, their plan was undermined by dealers who inflated prices to as much as N7,000 to N8,000 per bag. This situation exemplifies the kind of exploitative conduct that the FCCPC is committed to addressing. Such practices make it difficult for ethical businesses to thrive.

    “While promoting competition is essential for economic health, as evidenced in sectors like telecommunications, it is equally important to enforce laws against practices that undermine fair competition. The FCCPC remains committed to a balanced approach that respects the dynamics of a free market while ensuring that consumers are protected from harmful practices.”

    The commission encouraged all businesses to engage in ethical and lawful practices that contribute to a fair and competitive marketplace.

    The FCCPC does not seek to suppress private enterprise, ‘our role is to ensure that the market operates on principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability’. When businesses, as illustrated by the cement sector case, engage in practices that harm consumers, the FCCPC will take decisive action.

    It also stated that the FCCPC will continue to work collaboratively with all stakeholders, businesses, consumer groups, and other government agencies, to address both the immediate and remote causes of exploitative pricing.

    The commission added: “Our approach combines enforcement with cooperation, aiming to protect consumers and maintain a healthy competitive environment.

    “The FCCPC stands firm in its commitment to enforcing the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018. We will continue to monitor the marketplace and act against any business practices that violate the law. Consumers and businesses alike can trust that we will remain vigilant in upholding the principles of fair competition and consumer protection.”

  • The seller is no king

    The seller is no king

    The aphorism that the buyer is king, does not apply to Nigeria, any more. If all things are equal, as they say in economics, sellers competing for customers offer their goods at competitive prices, which make the buyer the king. Where the sellers are unreasonable, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that sellers are estopped from arbitrary price fixing. So, a seller who hideously sells far beyond a reasonable margin should be driven off the market, either by other competitors, or punished by the state. Sadly, most Nigerian sellers want to be kings, averse to fair pricing.

    That perhaps explains why the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), decided to move against the racketeering sellers. According to the Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, the commission will fight the disturbing trend of marketers “engaged in the growing trend of unreasonable pricing of consumer goods and services across the country”. Presently the price of goods and services, now largely depend on how greedy the seller is, damn the buyers, and even more damned, the manufacturers.

    One common example is the price of cement. The chairman of BUA Cement, Abdul Samad Rabiu, captured the kingship of sellers, in an interview with The Guardian, while relaying how his dealers handed the buyers of BUA cement, the short end of the stick. He said: “we sold over a million tons of BUA cement to dealers at the price of N3,500 per bag, to reduce price for the consumers. However, the dealers were selling each bag of cement to consumers for prices ranging from N7,000 to N8,000.”

    He went on: “we were unable to regulate the dealers who were earning substantial profits due to the high margins, as the company lack influence over pricing in the open market so we discontinued the price policy.”

    What happened in the cement industry may not be different from what is happening in other industries, as marketers in anticipation of inflationary pressure on the naira, continuously hike their prices, which in turn further negatively impacts the cost of goods in the market.

    The above scenario is the lot of Nigerians in recent times, otherwise how can the market forces justify the crazy inflationary pressure that has made mincemeat of the nation’s economy. Food inflation for instance, has refused to budge even in the midst of several intervention programs by the federal and state governments. Sometime in February, the federal government announced the release of 102,000 metric tons of various grain types from the Strategic Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria.

    Again, in July, the federal government announced the dispatch of 740 lorry loads of rice to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, to cushion the effects of food shortages across the country. Strangely, despite these intervention programs by the federal government, and many others by the states, the prices of food items continue to skyrocket. What the sellers do obviously is to determine the price of the goods, with scant regards to fair pricing and even the supply.

    The discreet investigation by FCCPC as reported by this paper last Friday, captures the profiteering going on amongst sellers. Retailers, joyously increase the price of goods, every day, as if they derive pleasure from the suffering of the masses. And the saddest part of what has been the lot of Nigerians is that the arbitrary gains are most times made by middlemen, who are merely parasitic in the economic value chain. Some are market association officials, who have no goods of their own, but yet determine the prices goods are to be sold at.

    As already seen from the reaction of the organized private sector, the FCCPC won’t find it easy, in regulating the abuses in the retail end of the price manipulation, but they should do their best to curtail the abuses within the sector. The attack from the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), shows a mind-set which do not care much about the consumers. While this column does not advocate for price fixing, mindboggling price gouging and abuses, that is common within the retail end of the market, should be addressed.

    Sometimes, prices of goods change every day, and that cannot be reasonably attributed to market forces of demand and supply. Sellers merely anticipate what the next price could be, and they affix it on their goods. As the enquiry by FCCPC showed, the price of an item sold in a supermarket in the USA, was 500 percent cheaper than what is offered for the same item, in a supermarket in Nigeria. And to further worsen the exploitation, there is over 20 percent increase in the price within a week.

    If the organized private sector, fully understand the market dynamics, they would encourage the FCCPC to use the powers they have to bring sanity to the market. After all, if goods produced do not leave the shelf because of price abuses, their members would close up their businesses. So, the organized private sector, before jumping into the fray to attack the Commission, should research the market dynamics, to determine whether it is inflation or price gouging that is at play.     

    If it is the forces of inflation that is at work, they should lay their findings before the public, and that would spur the government to continuously rejig their fiscal policies. This writer agrees with the position of the President of NACCIMA, Dele Oye, that instead of pointing accusing fingers, concerted efforts by all stakeholders is what is needed. It is easier to point fingers, than to join forces, as Muda Lawal of CPPE seems to be more interested in doing.

    As argued by the FCCPC’s chief executive, what is the rationale for the price of a product to be the equivalent of N140,000 in USA, and N944,999 on the same day, in Nigeria. The blame on ‘fluctuating exchange rate, galloping lending rate, high energy costs, multiplicity of taxes, levies, fees and unfriendly regulatory environment’ while causes for serious concern, do not justify the 500 percent differential, in the practical example shared by the Commission. And clearly, while promoting free trade practices, regulatory agencies, should also forestall trade abuses, as is obviously the case in Nigeria.   

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    A cursory look at the mandate of the FCCP, shows that they are in a pole position to save Nigerian consumers from the exploitative pricing of goods and services, when caused by sellers. With its functions and powers enumerated in sections 17 and 18 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (2018), the Commission has expansive powers to protect the interest of Nigerian consumers. Again, while not asking for price fixing, the Commission should do all within its powers, to rein in, unlawful anti-consumer practices.