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FG to tackle erring firms over unethical competitive practices

By BusinessNews Staff on May 7, 2014

The federal government yesterday said the days of cartel-like entities and organisations involved in antitrust and unethical competitive practices were over, noting that with the presentation of the draft National Competition and Consumer Protection Policy prepared by the ministry of industry trade and investments, the undue control of business sectors by individual companies or groups leading to unethical business practices will be stopped.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, explained that the draft bill delineates the institutions, laws, regulations, orders, rulings and other implementations and enforcement tools that will ensure that competition and consumer protection matters are dealt with promptly.
Aganga who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, of the ministry, Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa, at the formal presentation of the draft National Competition and Consumer Protection Policy to the organised private sector, the business community, states and other stakeholders in the South-west, South east and South south.
He pointed out that the present administration in the past two years has worked assiduously to produce a new legal and regulatory framework for competition and consumer protection stating that there is currently a draft on federal competition and consumer protection bill being considered by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for onward transmission to the National Assembly for passage into law.
“Mindful of the need to chart a coherent policy direction that will guide any future implementation and legislative initiative in the sector and conscious of the need to make the reforms sustainable, there is need to spell out a policy framework that will regulate consumer protection and competition matters in Nigeria,” he said.
He noted that as a result of this, the ministry has prepared a draft national policy on competition and consumer protection which is contained in its brochure maintaining that the need and benefits of a national policy for competition and consumer protection are vital for economic growth and development.
He enjoined stakeholders to make inputs, suggestions and comments that would enrich the draft, “as we work together, work to bequeath unto our dear nation an enduring investor-friendly, consumer protecting national competition and consumer protection policy that would propel innovation, economic prosperity and contribute to our global competitiveness,” he said.
Earlier, the Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Dikki, explained that the bureau had received complaints over service providers expanding their customer base astronomically and still not bringing prices down to enable consumers purchase goods and services at competitive prices.
He said a competition policy would set the framework for rules to make sure businesses and companies compete fairly with one another and would also bring about low prices for all, driving business growth and the economy in general.
“We require a comprehensive and wholistic review of our competition policies and laws. We need an agency like this to answer questions that has to do with unfair competition in the country,” he said.
According to him, the federal government is aware of this lacuna in the reform structure and has been assiduously working towards addressing the emerging issues of consumer protection and the promotion of healthy competition that does not exploit consumers.
“As government was ceding control of vital infrastructurecritical to the well being of Nigerians to the private sector, there was a compelling need to put in place enabling legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure that the public monopolies that were being ceded to the private sector do not transform into private sector monopolies,” he added.
Dikki added that competition policy sets the framework for rules to make sure businesses and companies compete fairly with one another and would also bring out low prices for consumers as more people can afford to buy more thereby driving business growth and the growth of the economy in general.
He noted that competition would also encourage business to improve the quality of goods and services they offer to attract more customers and expand market share.
“In a competitive market, businesses will try to differentiate their products. This results in greater choices where consumers can select the product that offers them the right balance between price and quality,” he added.