By Ali Elias
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has cautioned the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) against what it describes as the “intimidation” of retailers across Nigeria. In a statement released on Sunday, CPPE Director/CEO Dr. Muda Yusuf expressed concern that the FCCPC is shifting from its core mission of consumer protection to what he perceives as price control.
Yusuf argued that the FCCPC is increasingly acting like a “price control agency” rather than focusing on its mandate to protect consumer rights. “The disproportionate focus of the commission on the retail segment of the economy and pricing issues underscores this assertion,” he said.
He emphasized that consumer protection should not involve direct price control at the retail level, and criticized recent threats by the FCCPC against market leaders, traders, and supermarket owners as misplaced. According to Yusuf, the retail sector, with its millions of participants, is one of the least vulnerable to price gouging. “The truth is that the retail segment of the economy is the least vulnerable to price gouging or consumer exploitation on a sustainable basis, contrary to the thinking of the commission,” he stated.
Yusuf also warned that the FCCPC is “fighting the symptoms rather than dealing with the causes of the current inflationary pressure in the economy,” noting that inflation management is the responsibility of fiscal and monetary authorities, not the FCCPC. “The fiscal and monetary authorities are statutorily responsible for macroeconomic policy issues and are better placed to deal with the challenge of high prices,” he added.
He urged the FCCPC to focus on promoting competition across sectors rather than on pricing, citing the telecom industry as an example of how competition can effectively protect consumers. “The emphasis should not be on pricing but on deepening the culture and practice of competition and a level playing field for all investors,” Yusuf noted.
Yusuf also criticized the FCCPC’s proposal to enforce price regulation through market inspections nationwide, calling this approach “unsustainable” and urging the commission to address root causes of inflation such as high energy costs, logistics challenges, and exchange rate depreciation. He stressed that “the dynamics of pricing and prices in an economy are much more complex and fundamental” and require a deeper understanding.
In conclusion, Yusuf called on the FCCPC to collaborate with other government agencies to tackle the fundamental drivers of inflation rather than intimidating retailers, and suggested that the commission focus on sectors where consumer rights violations are more prevalent, such as aviation, health, energy, and financial services. “The focus should be on causative factors driving prices, not the symptoms,” he said.