By GINIKA OKOYE

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), says the Commission remains committed in its mandate to safeguard consumers from unfair, deceptive and exploitative pricing of goods and services.

Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, the FCCPCs Director of Special Duties and Strategic Communication said this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The Commission was reacting to feedback by stakeholders over its recent directive to businesses to cease price gouging, fixing and exploitative practices.

He said the Commissions recent directive was not about controlling prices but focused on curbing exploitative practices and anti-competitive behaviours which distorted the marketplace and harm consumers.

Ijagwu said the FCCPC appreciated feedback by the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and other parties.

We categorically assert that prices in a competitive marketplace are determined solely by the forces of supply and demand.

Price control is entirely outside the scope of our responsibilities.

We have never considered, nor will we ever consider intervening in the market to regulate prices.

Any claims to the contrary are baseless and unfounded.

We recognise the complexities of the current economic environment, including challenges such as foreign exchange fluctuations and fuel subsidy removal.

These factors certainly impact pricing, but they do not excuse or justify exploitative practices that are anti-consumer, he said.

Ijagwu said the Commissions proposed actions in the retail sector were targeted and evidence-based, responding to specific instances where consumers were vulnerable to such exploitation.

Discoveries made during our market surveillance and a recent disclosure by Abdul Rabiu, the Chairman of BUA Cement, underscore the critical need for our oversight.

Rabiu revealed that in spite of BUA Cements effort to sell cement at a fair price of N3,500 per bag, the plan was undermined by dealers who inflated prices to as much as N7,000 to N8,000 per bag.

This situation exemplifies the kind of exploitative conduct that the FCCPC is committed to addressing, such practices make it difficult for ethical businesses to thrive.

When businesses, as illustrated by the cement sector case, engage in practices that harm consumers, the FCCPC will take decisive action, he said.

Ijagwu said that although promotion of competition was essential for the economy as evidenced in telecommunications, it was important to enforce laws against practices that undermined fair competition.

He urged all businesses to engage in ethical and lawful practices that contributed to a fair and competitive marketplace.

The official said the FCCPC does not seek to suppress private enterprises, saying that its role was to ensure that the market operated on principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability.

He said the Commission would continue to work collaboratively with all stakeholders; businesses, consumer groups, and other government agencies, to address the immediate and remote causes of exploitative pricing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FCCPC had given traders a one-month moratorium to traders involved in exploitative pricing to adjust prices or face enforcement by the Commission. (NAN)