|
Réunion GNR II
(Deuxième session de reunions de Groupes Nationaux de
Référence)
Dans les médias –
Nigeria
Nigeria: MAN,
CEON Task Nass On Competition Law
Daily Independent, Nigeria, January 11, 2010
Group stresses
need for competition law
Next, Nigeria, January 11, 2010
Nigeria: MAN, CEON Task Nass On Competition
Law
Daily Independent, Nigeria, January 11, 2010
Abuja — The
Consumer Empowerment Organisation of Nigeria (CEON) and the
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday tasked
the nation's lawmakers to put in place effective competition
policy to regulate the Nigerian consumers' market.
The
coordinator and founder of CEON, a non-governmental
organisation, Adedeji Abiodun, urged the Nigeria's lawmaker
at the second round of the national reference group meeting
on the roadmap for domestic competition reforms in Nigerian,
held at the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Headquarters
in Abuja.
According to
Abiodun, the continued absence and imbalance competition
policy in the demand and supply chains in the nation's
consumer market can be attributed to lack of political will
stemming from lack of understanding of the benefits from an
effective competition regime among those at the political
affairs in the country.
He also
identified low level of awareness among government and
business segments about competition law, and strong lobbies,
vested interest and corruption as impending factors and
frequent reporting of anti-competitive practices in the
media factors that have brought about the unharmonious
competition in the Nigeria's market place.
While
regretting the perceived lack of consensus between the
different government departments and turf issues, he said:
"In spite of the three sets of bills on competition policy
put before the National Assembly in the last three years,
government is yet to adopt a practicable competition law.
The absence
of a concise and effective competitive law, he said
constituted why Nigerian's farmers have continued to rely on
the use of old stocks of crops and stocks since they can not
afford the price of hybrid seedlings, which later will
affect their productivity.
He said:
"Lack of competition in seeds and fertilisers markets as a
result of high cost of input is also as a result of lack of
competition law in the country."
Adding he
said, "We want to have a road map for competition reforms in
Nigeria so this is a project that we have started since last
year and it involves research and the outcome of this
research will be use at different levels to ensure that the
country has competition law.
He also noted
that at the moment Nigerian is one of the countries without
competition law and we also acknowledge the need for
relevant stakeholders to contribute to this course.
He said his
organisation is working with the CPC, which is from the
government with other stakeholders to find a way to win the
conscience of government on the need to evolve a workable
policy. "And that is why we have come together to strategise
on how to go about the issue. This is the second meeting the
first was last year and our aim is for us in Nigeria to have
a functional competition law and that is the whole essence
of this exercise," he said.
A
representative of MAN, Okpe Sunday Adejoh, adduced that the
aftermath of the absence of the competition law is severe
hardship on the consumers.
According to
him, some years back consumers of gas were buying the
products at the rate of about N6.00 per cubic liter but
today some can no longer afford it as the price has been
increased up to about N63 per cubic liter.
The news item can also be
viewed at:
http://allafrica.com/
Group stresses need for competition law
Next, Nigeria, January 11, 2010
A
non-governmental organisation, Consumer Empowerment
Organisation of Nigeria, said market competition has had a
terrible impact on Nigerian consumers and urged the
federal government to enact a law to regulate market
activities in the country.
The group
said the only way to check the high price and general
imbalance faced by consumers and other players in the
market is to enact a Competition Law, adding that today,
businessmen who desire patronage, engage in all kinds of
shady practices at the expense of consumers and the
economy.
Such a law
is expected to make the economy prosper, provide mutual
benefits to everybody in the market and improve consumer
welfare.
Lack of
commitment
Coordinator
of the group, Adedeji Abiodun who said these on Tuesday in
Abuja, at a forum organised to provide a road-map for
competition reforms, lamented government’s lack of
commitment on the matter and noted that the country is one
of the few without a functional competition law.
Mr. Abiodun
further said that “perceived lack of consensus between the
different government departments about the benefits,
opposition from big businesses towards the adoption of the
law, low level of awareness among government and business
segment about competition issues” are among the challenges
hindering the law.
He however
stressed that laws governing the market are necessary and
applicable to all the sectors in the economy otherwise
buyers and sellers will throw caution to the winds.
Mr. Abiodun
said, “There is need for continuous advocacy to be able to
break that barrier that is the market barrier at the
national level. We have two or three bills pending, so we
want to keep on pressuring them to see the reason why the
bill must be passed. We have already started the advocacy
and we will intensify on it to see that the bill is
passed.”
Previous
law
The federal
government had in 1992, established the Consumer
Protection Council by Act No. 66 of 1992. The Agency was
saddled with the responsibility of protecting the interest
of the consumers, providing redress to complaints and
sensitizing consumers to act as discerning discriminating
buyers in the market.
Director
General of the Council, Ify Umenyi, said the agency is
collaborating with bodies like National Agency for Food
Drugs Administration and Control and the Standard
Organisation of Nigeria, to ensure compliance by dealers
in goods and services, saying that the council will soon
commence the registration of products and services in the
Nigerian market.
She also
said the council organises radio programmes on radio
network, tagged, ‘Consumer Speaks’ and ‘Consumer watchdog’
on the television to further educate and enlighten
Nigerian consumers on their right to quality goods and
services.
The news item can also be
viewed at:
|
