NAN-HE-24
Bill
By Olwunmi Ashafa
Lagos, Dec.14, 2016 (NAN) Mrs Dupe Atoki, the Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), said passage of the Competition Bill into law would eliminate price fixing from the business system.
Atoki said this at the just concluded capacity building programme for media on Consumer Protection Issues and Role of Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on Wednesday in Lagos.
She said the Competition Law would also remove monopoly and cartel from market where consumers were at companies’ ‘beck and call’.
Atoki recalled a period in the country when a telecommunication company was taking advantage of exploiting consumers when it was the only one available.
According to her, there is no law regulating competition among companies in the country.
The director-general explained that the emergence of the Competition Law would lead to improved business environment and consumers’ welfare.
She added that the bill, which had been on since 16 years ago, existed as law in advanced countries and some African countries such as the Gambia, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya.
Atoki said the good news was that the country would soon enact the law which would change CPC to Competition and Consumer Commission, set standards and modify ways of doing businesses for companies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the bill had already gone through the second reading at the National Assembly and had its public hearing in Abuja on Dec. 13.
Against the background, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has been partnering with CPC on National Quality Infrastructure Project to support CPC to achieve its mandate.
The acting Chief Technical Adviser, UNIDO NQI, Dr Shaukat Malik, said the multi-national donor had been developing policy guidance programme to strengthen the national supporting framework for consumer authorities in the country.
Malik, represented by Ms Efehi Ubebe, Partnership and Communications Expert, UNIDO NQI Project, said the partnership was also to support the Federal Government in promoting a systemic approach to quality infrastructure in alignment with private sector needs.(NAN)
AWA/IA
Edited by Idris Abdulrahman
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