In a move to protect consumers and ensure fair market practices, the Federal Consumer Competition and Protection Commission (FCCPC) has announced plans to sanction open markets, cartels, and supermarkets found engaging in price fixing.
Dr Adamu Abdullahi, Acting Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the FCCPC revealed this during a one-day sensitization workshop organized for students in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
”Price fixing is an illegal practice where competing businesses agree to set prices, undermining the natural competitive market forces.
”This collusion can lead to higher prices, reduced innovation, and overall market inefficiencies, adversely affecting consumers and the economy.
”In Nigeria, where the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded an inflation rate of 33.69% in April, price fixing poses a significant threat to market stability and consumer welfare,” Dr Abdullahi stated.
He emphasized the commission’s commitment to educating operators and traders about the illegality and consequences of price fixing.
He also highlighted the FCCPC’s advocacy efforts in markets and supermarkets across the country to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws.
”The commission aims to prevent practices such as misleading price tags and the formation of cartels that fix prices for food items like yam, eggs, and rice,” he stated.
Addressing stakeholders at the workshop, Dr Abdullahi stressed the importance of sensitization before implementing sanctions.
He disclosed that a committee had been established to develop a curriculum on consumer rights, which will be introduced in schools to educate students as part of the FCCPC’s mandate.
“We have embarked on advocacy visits to open markets and supermarkets to educate operators and traders on what the consumer protection law stipulates.
“For instance, you can’t go to the market and see a particular price tag on an item and when you go to pick it, they will tell you the price is higher.
”It is misleading and deceptive, and the law does not allow that. We are conducting sensitization now, and after that, sanctions will follow for those defaulting,” he noted.
He added that the FCCPC’s initiative aims to foster a competitive and fair market environment, ensuring that consumers are not exploited through unfair pricing practices.
The FCCPC had earlier issued a stern warning to businesses engaging in price fixing, emphasizing the detrimental impact such practices have on consumers’ well-being and economic stability.
The commission declared its commitment to safeguarding consumers’ interests and ensuring fair market practices.
The FCCPC emphasized its readiness to enforce Section 17(s) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 against perpetrators of such acts, which prohibit obnoxious trade practices and unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.
