On Thursday, April 18, 2024, the Federal Competitions and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, swooped into action to enforce price display and quantity compliance in Abuja.
While such an important intervention was long in coming, amid lingering high cost of living and low wages in Nigeria, it remains justifiable to tame the reckless appetite of price-fixing profiteers in formal and informal markets.
Nigerians were visibly helpless in the face of a wild pricing situation and unfair market practices, as rising cost of goods and discrepancies between prices and quantities spiked renewed concerns for dire economic straits.
This unconscionable inflation of prices by businesses occurred despite recent gains recorded by the Naira against the US Dollar at the foreign exchange market, which should precipitate a corresponding decrease in prices.
By March ending, the country’s headline inflation rose to 33.20 per cent with the possibility of not slowing by April ending as prices of products and staple food items remain excessively high.
Nigerians made frantic calls on government to bring the situation under control before FCCPC carried out the enforcement.
According to the commission, its operatives will be working collaboratively with trade associations, farmer groups, and other stakeholders to identify and remove unnecessary barriers to entry in various sectors, combat price-fixing, and dismantle cartels.
While it is hoped that this will encourage increased competition and lower prices for consumers, the government must learn from its failures and avoid experimenting policies that would trigger price increases and widespread economic hardship.
For nearly a year, Nigeria has suffered more from the fuel subsidy removal and Naira exchange policies than it actually gained from them. As evident in the nationwide suffering and sprawling inflation, the two policies have inflicted more harm on majority of Nigerians than any other policy during this period.
However, private businesses and individuals also share in the blame for encouraging widening economic hardship.
Nigerian markets are strongly oriented towards profit. Downward price reviews are not contemplated despite a favourable business climate. Rip-offs are condoned as normal business transactions and there is hardly a line between what is the actual price of a product and an excess gain.
This explains why government must avoid any policy that will trigger increase of prices of products in the market as what goes up in the Nigerian market does not come down.
A significant regulatory grip is therefore required to set boundaries on what is acceptable practice to instil conscionable and ethical practices in pricing around Nigerian markets during and after crisis periods.
What FCCPC carried out was a campaign to enforce price display and quantity compliance at supermarkets around Abuja. It is our submission that the commission could have done more if its mandate covered areas such as price-fixing.
We are, therefore, not averse to a review of relevant laws establishing the commission or any legislation that would expand FCCPC’s powers to enforce price fixing and other relevant actions to safeguard Nigerian consumers from the arbitrariness of profit-oriented individuals and groups.
Such a legislation should also target the creation of a business environment that promotes increased competition to encourage low prices and empower consumers to press for enforcement of their rights where rip-off or unfavorable treatment is suspected.
FCCPC has made clear that “Frequent price discrepancies and failure to display prices clearly are unfair practices that undermine consumer trust and violate established regulations.” This underscores the need for the elimination of such practices through frequent enforcements to ensure that businesses adhere to all extant and relevant regulations.
While government bears the blame for its policy flip-flops, citizens in business must see the need to play an active role in cushioning the impact through reasonable pricing of their goods and services.
