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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has concluded plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with supermarket operators to boost consumers’ confidence in the country.
The acting Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Dr Adamu Abdullahi, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos when he hosted members of the National Association of Supermarket Operators of Nigeria/Retail Council of Nigeria.
Abdullahi stated that the FCCPC and the association had agreed to form a technical committee that would facilitate the signing of the MoU for them to understand themselves better.
“We have agreed to form a small technical committee that would now look at having an MoU and with that, we would have an understanding and we are going to work together henceforth.
“We are going to have a lot of capacity building among us. We understand each other. We need to understand their businesses and they should understand us from the side of regulators. That way, we would have a lot of mileage and in the same manner, we achieve positive results,” Abdullahi disclosed.
The FCCPC boss reiterated that having discussions and understanding with the operators would make things easier for the consumers.
“All we are after is to ensure that the consumers have a fair share in the market space,” he said.
Abdullahi added that another issue the commission was having was about price display on products.
“The concern we have in the retail business, especially the formal sector, is this issue of price display on products. This has been a major concern for us because it was what led to the sealing of a major supermarket in Abuja.
“The price displayed at the counter is different from what you pay and that is misleading and deceptive as long as the regulations are concerned,” he asserted.
He urged retail marketers to ensure that the price they tag on their products on the shelves is the same as the consumer pays when making payments.
“Retail supermarkets, your prices on the shelves must be the same price when the person comes to pay for the product he has picked. So price transparency is of utmost importance to us,” the acting EVC added.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Retail Council of Nigeria, Mr Heresh Keswani, said being a complaint trader in Nigeria was very expensive, adding that retailers in Nigeria were suffering.
“The current retail shops are the second generation. the first generation died many years ago. The second generation which has many brands built over many years is also struggling to be in business and we all know the reason they are struggling.
“Because being a complaint trader in Nigeria is expensive, to pay salaries on time, pay bills and follow the rules, it is an expensive one,” he said.
He said that the group was focused on ensuring the welfare of consumers.
Keswani promised that the association would continue to focus on the welfare of retailers.
“We all here are law-abiding companies we would continue to focus on the welfare of the consumers as FCCPC is focusing on,” Keswani stated.
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