Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is determined to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders for the early passage of Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (Anti-Trust) Bill, the Director General of the Bureau, Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki, has pledged .
The Bill is among the eight approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last Wednesday for onward transmission to the National Assembly for passage. The other Bills are: the National Transport Commission Bill (2015); National Roads Fund Bill; Federal Roads Authority Bill; Nigeria Ports and Harbour Authority Bill (2015); National Inland Waterways Authority Bill (2015) and the Nigeria Railway Authority Bill (2015).
Receiving the Director General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs. Catherine Dupe Atoki, during a courtesy call on him in Abuja on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 , Dikki said an interagency Project Delivery Team (PDT) would soon be set up to achieve the goal.
He said the PDT which will be led by the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment would have other relevant ministries and government agencies.
The DG disclosed that the Bureau had already drawn up a roadmap, specifying the role each stakeholder would play and said it would recommend to government that CPC formed the nucleus of the agency that would emerge as a regulator in the sector, similar to the role the Shippers Council is playing in Ports regulation.
He noted that the ratification of the Bill by the FEC for onward transmission to the National Assembly after over seven years was eloquent demonstration of the transformation-driven agenda of the present administration “which seeks to transform the Nigerian economy and provide the enabling environment for private sector investments to thrive”.
Dikki added that there is need for a strong and independent regulatory body that would ensure a level playing field for all those who would want to play in the sector and ensure that no player is muscled out. According to him, the bill will strive to ensure that we “don’t replace government monopoly with private sector monopoly, as consumers have to be protected”. He said the Bill which intends to widen the scope of CPC when passed, would include antitrust regulation in addition to consumer protection.
Earlier, the Director-General of CPC, Mrs. Catherine Dupe Atoki noted that the time had come for Nigeria to join the league of countries protecting the right of consumers of goods and services and ensure fair competition.
She said the approval of the Bill by the FEC for onward transmission to the National Assembly for passage was an added value in the protection of the rights of consumers in the country.
