The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has reiterated its resolve to address issues of coordinated price-fixing, sales of expired or sub-standard products, false packaging and labelling, and disregard for consumer rights, in Lagos markets.
The Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Tunji Bello, stated this in Lagos while engaging the leadership of Tejuosho Market on Wednesday.
Bello, who was represented by the agency’s Principal Consumer and Business Education Officer, Bridget Etim,
described the engagement as part of the commission’s National Market Engagement Initiative.
This, he explained, is derived from Section 2(1) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018, which makes every business, irrespective of its size, subject to the provisions of the law.
“It is therefore incumbent upon the Commission to ‘create public awareness and make available to the public information with regard to the exercise of its powers and performance of its functions, in accordance with Section 17(I) of the FCCPA,” he added.
The FCCPC boss stated that the decision to organise the forum with the market leadership was informed by the need to address the issues of faking, sub-standard personal effects and houseware and cartel-like pricing within market associations, at Tejuosho Market.
He charged the leadership of the market to give the issues raised the utmost attention they deserved, since they affect household income, endanger consumer safety, erode public trust and violate key provisions of the FCCPA 2018, which prohibit deceptive practices and unfair pricing.
“Such violations harm the integrity of the market and put honest traders at a disadvantage.
“When a buyer gets ripped off at Mile 12, Alaba International, or Tejuosho market, it doesn’t just hurt the seller; it hurts Lagos. We need to protect the good name of our markets. Let’s show that Mile 12 is not just for food, but for fair dealings. Let Alaba be where electronics work. Let Tejuosho be known for honest textiles and true quality in every fabric,” he appealed.
Bello, therefore, stressed the need for the market leadership to act as a matter of urgency, ‘because when a mother is shortchanged on a bag of rice, a family goes hungry. When substandard electronics cause a house fire, lives are endangered. When cartels inflate prices, inflation worsens and public trust collapses.”
He expressed the agency’s readiness to partner with market leaders across the country, with the aim of committing to a new standard that would make integrity the norm, allow traders to compete fairly, and also make consumers shop with confidence.
The FCCPC boss assured the Lagos market leaders, whom he described as being under pressure, induced by rising operational costs, of the agency’s readiness to amplify their genuine business concerns to the relevant agencies.
