A private sector coalition, comprising the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA and other key business membership organisations, in collaboration with Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment, ENABLE, has called on the  National Assembly to work without further on the Competition Bill currently before it so as to pass same into law.

Stressing “on the need for early passage of the Competition Bill in Nigeria”, the coalition had in a statement issued in Lagos urged that it be given accelerated legislative attention since Nigeria presently does not have such law in existence.

According to the  statement signed by Olusola Ayodele, on behalf of Olusegun Oshinowo, Director-General of NECA: “Nigeria has no Competition Law at present and previous efforts made by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and other interested parties to get the Competition Bill passed into law did not succeed.”

Oshinowo recalled that Nigeria began the process of instituting a competition regime over 16 years ago. According to him, a draft policy was produced by the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE and two separate Bills were drafted by BPE and the then Ministry of commerce and industry, but that none of these saw the light of day.

He also said that successive administrations and sessions of the National Assembly had taken steps to enact a competition law but the effort was never seen to completion.

 Consumer protection

Tracing the journey of the bill so far, the DG said: “The immediate past administration drafted a Policy Document and a Bill on Competition and Consumer Protection. While the Policy Document was never presented to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, for consideration, the Bill was approved by FEC and transmitted to the National Assembly for enactment.

However, the Bill could not make any progress in the 7th National Assembly as it was transmitted just three months before the elections.

“At the moment, about four Bills on the subject have been sponsored by different concerned lawmakers in both Chambers of the National Assembly as private Member Bills.   Moreover, the National Assembly has identified this Bill as one of the priority Bills for passage.”

On the need for the National Assembly to expedite action on the Bill, he said: “Since this Bill will among other things, promote job creation and attract foreign and local investors to invest in the country, it is, therefore, imperative that this Bill should be given priority attention by the lawmakers.

“We, therefore, urge the lawmakers to match words with action and give Nigeria a competition law before the end of this year.”

The group further said that the Bill “sets out the rules that regulate the operation of commercial entities within the economy so as to ensure that virtues of competition are not impeded. Prohibition of agreements or contracts between or among firms aimed at restricting or eliminating competition in a given market.

“Prohibition of abuse of dominant position or market power (using a dominant position to unfairly restrict or eliminate competition especially from smaller players or new entrants into the market).

“Regulation of mergers and acquisitions (to ensure that competition in the relevant market is not eliminated by the merging of two or more firms); specific practices that come under the scrutiny of competition law include: Price fixing by a dominant firm or by a number of firms in concert; allocation of markets along geographical or product lines,” he said, adding:

“Refusal to deal with a particular supplier or distributor collusive tendering or bid rigging; forming and operating cartels or using other antics to keep new entrants away from the market; resale price maintenance; refusal to grant a potential competitor access to shared or network facility, etc.”