▪︎Dr Muda Yusuf,  the CEO of CPPE

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) has charged at the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission [FCCPC],  to refrain from further intimidation of the operators in the retail sector of the economy most of whom are micro and small businesses, with many in the informal sector.

Dr Muda Yusuf,  the CEO of CPPE,  made the call, while reacting to the last week’s threat by the FCCPC to traverse markets across the country with objective of forcing traders,  supermarkets owners,  market men and women to reduce the  prices of essential food items.

Dr Yusuf,  told journalists in Lagos, at the weekend : ” The FCCPC appears to be unwittingly transforming into a price control agency rather than a consumer protection commission.

The disproportionate focus of the commission on the retail segment of the economy and pricing issues underscores this assertion.

The core mandate of the commission is the creation of a robust competition framework across sectors and protection of consumer rights and interests. 

Consumer protection is not about directly seeking to control price at the retail end of the supply chain.

This is why the CPPE is concerned about the approach, methodology, targeting and the recent threats by the FCCPC to market leaders, traders and supermarket owners.”

The commission seem to be fighting the symptoms rather than dealing with the causes of the current inflationary pressure in the economy. 

Even then, the core mandate of the commission is not to fight inflation. 

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 said.

He urges the FCCPC,  to have a proper comprehension of the dynamics of pricing and the key drivers of inflation. 

” These factors include the naira exchange rate depreciation, high energy cost, high cost of logistics, seasonality of food production, high cost of funds, extortions on the highways, high post-harvest losses, high cargo clearing cost, impact of the insecurity on food production, climate change and global factors disrupting supply chains.

” Our view is that the proposal by the FCCPC  is unlikely to yield concrete outcomes.  This is not a sustainable strategy.  

What we need to fix are the fundamentals driving production, operating and distribution costs which resulted in spiraling inflation in the first place. 

 
The dynamics of pricing and prices in an economy are much more complex and fundamental and do not seem aligned with the comprehension of the FCCPC on the issue. The variables are numerous, multidimensional and dynamic. 

It is difficult to make pronouncements on issues profiteering in such circumstances without a rigorous analysis based on data.”