The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has declared that the astronomical price hike of sachet water is uncalled for. The Acting Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, stated this on Friday at an event marking the 2024 World Consumer Day in Abuja.
The motto of this year’s celebration is “Fair and Responsible Al for Consumers”. According to Abdullahi, the astronomical price hike of sachet water by various entities is unacceptable and unfair to consumers.
He said there is no reason to increase the price of sachet water as most manufacturers have already installed the machines.
“Yes, power, fuel, price of nylon had increased, but that alone cannot explain the astronomical price hike.”
We found that associations exist for most products, including sachet water producers.
“When you want to sell eggs from your own farm at the Wuse market, the egg sellers association will tell you that you have to sell cheaper to them while they resell to consumers at a higher price.
“This has now led to the activities of ‘cartels’ and cartels are not acceptable anywhere in the globe worldwide.
“Our Act prohibits price fixing and it is not acceptable for us.We will find out these cartels and take action against their activities.
“Consumers International has been involved in efforts to understand how prices have developed in Nigeria over the last three months and this is very surprising and unacceptable.
“It is simply the problem of cartel and we need to step in and find out what is going on and break up these cartels. But the consumers are the ones who will lodge the complaint to us before we go and find out,” he said.
The Acting Deputy Chairman said the commission is not a price control body but is committed to fighting the rapid rise in food prices that is affecting consumers.
“The surge in food prices can be attributed to a variety of factors including market cartels, price manipulation, hoarding and usury or lack of transparency in pricing.
