THE Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has given traders and market participants engaged in price exploitation one-month within which to lower their prices on goods.
The new Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Mr. Tunji Bello, who disclosed this during a one-day stakeholders’ engagement, focused on exploitative pricing, held on Thursday, August 29, in Abuja, said the Commission planned to initiate enforcement actions as soon at the period.
According to him: “Under Section 155, violators, whether individuals or corporate entities, face severe penalties, including substantial fines and imprisonment, if found guilty by the court. This is intended to deter all parties involved in such illicit activities.
“However, our approach today is not punitive. I, therefore, call on all stakeholders to embrace the spirit of patriotism and cooperation. It is in this spirit that we are giving a moratorium of one month before the Commission will start firm enforcement.
“We have heard and you have genuine issues and the government has the responsibility to address the problems, but generally, let us talk to ourselves too.
“There are also gang-ups to exploit consumers by traders.”
Bello revealed that a fruit blender, called Ninja, was displayed on the shelf of a supermarket in Texas, United States (US) at $89 (roughly N140,000), but the same product was displayed in a popular supermarket at Victoria Island in Lagos State for N944,999.
“For instance, our check just two days ago at a popular supermarket chain in Texas, United States, revealed that a fruit blender called Ninja is displayed on the shelf at $89 (roughly N140,000). Just two days ago. “Meanwhile, the same product was displayed at a popular supermarket on Victoria Island in Lagos for N944,999 on the same day and at the same hour. This represents more than 500 per cent inflation of the cost,”
“Interestingly, when our undercover officer visited the same supermarket two weeks earlier, this same blender was on display with the price tag of N750,000.
“The question then arises: What is the basis for this arbitrary hike in the price of the blender compared to the US? What business principle can justify this level of profiteering?
“Perhaps I should cite a few more of the unpleasant discoveries we made during our investigation. In some notable supermarkets surveyed discreetly in Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Lagos, we also found that prices were arbitrarily jacked up from time to time without any justifiable reason.
“In one particular big supermarket in Abuja, for instance, consumers were being charged N2,600 for an imported toilet soap at the payment point, as the price tag was not displayed, as earlier mandated by FCCPC.
“The same toilet soap was displayed for sale at N1,950 at a popular supermarket in Lekki, Lagos the same day. That already constitutes a double offense.”
He also disclosed that a well-known supermarket in Nigeria is artificially raising the prices of its imported goods by an astounding 500 per cent, adding: “We have observed, for instance, that the margin in the prices of imported goods is very disproportionate in many cases, and in the case of locally produced goods, excessively inflated.
“This is an untenable situation, particularly in the retail segment, where we have identified patterns of price fixing perpetrated by some market associations, price gouging and other anti-consumer practices.”
