The Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) possesses full powers to implement and enforce price regulation on all goods and services in the country, court has affirmed.
The affirmation of the Commission’s power was contained in tje ruling by an Abuja Federal High Court on Thursday in respect of the filed by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited seeking to restrain the FCCPC from investigating its recent price increases for DStv and GOtv services.
After hearing of the submissions by parties in the matter, the court, presided over by Justice James Omotosho, struck out the application by MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, declaring it as an abuse of court process.
Prior to his final ruling, Justice Omotosho described MultiChoice’s application as duplicative and improper, given the existence of a similar matter involving the same parties pending before another court.
In February this year, announced a fresh hike in the subscription rates to its DStv and GOtv services barely eight months after similar increases in 2024.
The FCCPC had criticised the hike and directed Multichoice to halt the decision till further notice.
But, the cable television services provider did not only ignored the Commission’s invitation for a meeting, it defied the directive by proceeding to implement the hike in its subscription rates.
MultiChoice later proceeded to file an application at the Federal High Court to restrain the Commission from asking questions about the rationale behind its incessant price increases.
In his ruling on the application, Justice Omotosho affirmed some key provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018 regarding price regulation and the scope of the Commission’s mandate.
The FCCPC’s legal team was led by Prof. Joseph Abugu (SAN), while Mr. J. Onigbanjo (SAN) led the MultiChoice’s team.
The Court recognized the provisions of Section 88 of the FCCPA, which vests in the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria the authority to regulate the prices of goods and services when necessary.
Also, the court affirmed that the President may, at any time, delegate the authority to any agency, particularly the FCCPC, for enforcement.
The Court further upheld that, under Section 17 of the FCCPA, the FCCPC was vested with the power to investigate allegations of exploitative pricing practices against operators and to submit its findings, data, and recommendations to the President to inform decisions on price regulation.
In addition, the Court confirmed that once the President declares specific goods or services as subject to price regulation, the FCCPC possesses full enforcement powers to implement such regulations.
In his reaction to the court ruling, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Tunji Bello, described the ruling as an affirmation of the rule of law and a significant step towards curbing procedural tactics by service providers aimed at obstructing lawful regulatory oversight functions.
“It (ruling) sends a clear message that regulatory agencies will not be hindered by procedural roadblocks by service providers when exercising their lawful mandate to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in the marketplace,” he said.
“Nigerian consumers can be assured that the Commission is fully committed to investigating and addressing exploitative pricing and other anti-consumer practices, in line with the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018,” he added.
