FCCPC Seals Popular Abuja Supermarket as FG Moves Against Hoarding
- The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has shut down a supermarket in Abuja
- FCCPC cited consumer exploitation and deceptive pricing, saying the outlet will remain sealed until it complies with its order
- The development follows a recent move by the Nigerian government to fight hoarding, reportedly causing a food crisis
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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed Sahad Store, a popular supermarket in the Garki Area of Abuja.
The move is in response to President Bola Tinubu’s recent actions addressing Nigeria’s food crisis.
Source: Facebook
FCCPC says the action violates laws
The development comes 24 hours after Tinubu’s statement, indicating a proactive posture against factors causing the food crisis in Nigeria.
The FCCPC, led by its Acting Executive Vice Chairman, Adamu, cited allegations of customer exploitation, accusing the outlet of charging prices different from shelve prices.
The FCCPC boss said that the enforcement follows an investigation supported by claims of deceptive pricing practices by the supermarket management.
He said the supermarket violated Section 115(3) of the FCCPC Act, which said that consumers are entitled to pay the price displayed for goods or services, and any deviation constitutes an infringement.
Abdullahi said the supermarket will remain sealed pending further investigations, stating that compliance with legal provisions is a condition for reopening the outlet.
FG moves against hoarding
BusinessDay reports that development follows a government initiative to fight food hoarding.
The minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this following a meeting convened by President Tinubu with governors, heads of security agencies, and ministers to address the hoarding issue.
The minister outlined the formation of a committee to begin discussions on how to combat food inflation and hoarding and ensure availability at affordable prices.
Nigeria's food inflation soars
A recently released inflation figure shows that food inflation has contributed over 30% to the rise, which hit 29.90% in January 2024.
Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the country’s annual inflation rate reached 29.90% in January 2024 as the naira depreciates in the official and black markets.
The Consumer Price Index report by NBS indicated that prices increased by 0.98% to 29.90% in January 2024, compared to N28.92% in December 2023.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82 per cent,” the report stated.
The current figure surpasses projections by the Financial Derivates Company, which forecasted that inflation would rise to 29.73%.
The current inflation figure is the thirteenth consecutive increase and the highest in 17 years.
The increase in food inflation every month was due to a rise in the growth rate in the average prices of potatoes, yams and other tubers, bread and cereals, fish, meat, tobacco, and vegetables.
FCCPC bags 2023 government agency of the Year award
Legit.ng reported that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) was named the Government Agency of the Year 2023.
A statement indicates that the FCCPC was recognised for promoting fairness, regulatory stability and consumer protection within the Nigerian marketplace.
Recall that the agency also in 2023 bagged an outstanding achievement consumer education award in Australia, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
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Source: Legit.ng
