The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has sealed off the head office of a popular supermarket in the Garki area of Abuja, Sahad supermarket/stores, over customers extortion and lack of transparency in prices.
This is coming twenty-four hours after President Bola Tinubu unveiled plans to tackle factors responsible for the food crisis across the country.
According to report, the acting Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Dr Adamu Abdullahi, who led the enforcement team to seal off the premises in Abuja on Friday, February 16, 2024, said the act was an obnoxious practice which amounted to violation of rights under the FCCP Act.
Lack of transparency, misleading pricing
Abdullahi said the practice contravened Section 155 (3) of the FCCPA and the fine amounted to N100 million or more.
- He said,” What we have found out that they are doing is misleading pricing and lack of transparency in their pricing which is against section 155 (3) of the FCCPAct.
- ” It is an obnoxious practice and amounts to violation of rights under the FCCPA.
- ” Section 155 of FCCPA states that any corporate person that contravenes this law is liable to a fine of N100 million or even more.
- ” We found out that they are contravening this law and made sure that we came to tell them that our mandate is very clear. What we have come here today to do is to make sure that they complied with the law.
- ” We called them to defend themselves, but they failed to show up and in the long run, they sent a lawyer and the lawyer is not familiar with the case, but we requested for names of people that we wanted to come and defend them.
- ” Those people refused to come, and these are the people in charge of retail, fix prices on the computer system and shelves.
- ” We do not have a choice than to seal off the premises until they comply with the provisions of the law.’’
- The FCCPC boss said that the Commission would continue to protect the citizens in line with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda.
He said said the Commission would continue to monitor the supermarket to make sure they complied with the law.
Mrs Boladale Adeyinka, the Director Surveillance and Investigations Department of FCCPC, said that price tags on products on the shelves of the supermarket were different from prices at the pay point computers.
Adeyinka said that even the same products and brand had different prices.
- She said,” The same products, the same brand has different prices. One is N5,000 while one is N6,000.
- ” Imagine if you buy 10 pairs, that means you have been short-changed by N10,000. In this period, we want people to have maximum value for their money.’’
This action is long overdue. However, this supermarket is not the only one involved in this practice.
ShopRite and Faxx supermarkets should also be investigated. And indeed all major supermarkets in Abuja should be scrutinized. You will be surprised at the outcome.
FCCPC needs to go round the shopping malls all over the country that’s what they’re doing when you complain they would tell you it’s a mistake and it would be resolved in their favour against the customers
There was a time in South Africa when this practice was ‘rampant’. A number of interventions took place. With fines and risk of closure, shops/supermarket embark on wide ranging approaches to safeguard price mismatch at Aile and till (pay point). These happen at different times or different stores
– one get the item free; or
– get 50% off the price; or
– get the lower price; or
– get a voucher
PS: I don’t subscribe to indiscriminate or political scapegoating. However, random approach can work. With randomness, possibly, not less than #20 would be ‘closed down’ in Abuja and Lagos within a week.