The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has said that there is “an emerging risk of market suppression and private enterprise repression” by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) following its price control drive.
The CPPE maintained that the FCCPC appeared to be “unwittingly transforming” into a price control agency rather than a consumer protection commission.
The CEO of CPPE, Dr Muda Yusuf, in a statement on Sunday, expressed concern about the approach, methodology, targeting and the recent “threats” by FCCPC to market leaders, traders and supermarket owners.
He said, “The commission seems to be fighting the symptoms rather than dealing with the causes of the current inflationary pressure in the economy.
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“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.”
According to him, the retail segment of the economy is the least vulnerable to price gouging or consumer exploitation on a sustainable basis contrary to the thinking of the commission.
He pointed out that the commission needed a proper comprehension of the dynamics of pricing and the key drivers of inflation.
He identified the drivers as 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.
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