{"id":117434,"date":"2025-04-15T16:31:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T15:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=117434"},"modified":"2025-04-15T16:31:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T15:31:32","slug":"fccpc-to-sanctions-abuja-rice-cartel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/fccpc-to-sanctions-abuja-rice-cartel\/","title":{"rendered":"FCCPC to Sanctions Abuja Rice Cartel\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Daniel Adaji<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Tuesday, clamped down on traders at the Utako Market in Abuja, sealing several shops for allegedly re-bagging local rice and selling it as premium foreign brands.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Backed by armed police officers, the commission stormed the market and shut down more than five major outlets suspected of deceptive packaging practices involving brands like Royal Stallion and Mama Gold\u2014brands the FCCPC says have not been legally imported into Nigeria since 2015.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Affected shop owners have been summoned to FCCPC headquarters for further investigation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the Director of Surveillance and Investigation at FCCPC, Mrs Boladale Adeyinka, intelligence reports indicated a widespread scheme to exploit consumer trust by passing off Nigerian rice as imported.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThat is exploitative. That is against consumer economic interests,\u201d she said, adding that the commission has confirmed that these rice brands have long exited the Nigerian market.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Adeyinka assured that the commission would pursue due process, confiscate the rebranded products, and impose penalties on violators.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe have administrative penalties and fines under our law,\u201d she warned. \u201cAnyone who fails to cooperate risks prosecution.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), false or misleading representations about products are prohibited. Section 125 bars deceptive branding, while Section 138 places liability on all actors within the supply chain.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Reacting to the raid, Igwenma Alex, secretary of the Utako Market Shop Ownership\/Traders Association, claimed many traders were unaware that the rice brands had been banned from importation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWhen something is banned, shouldn\u2019t awareness be created for Nigerians?\u201d he queried.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another trader said he sourced his products from distributors in Kaduna and Kano and would not have stocked the rice if he had known it was illegal.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Consumers have also expressed frustration over the situation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Michael Onuche, a resident of the Federal Capital Territory, voiced concerns over the trustworthiness of products sold in markets.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI no longer trust these market people,\u201d he told Pointblank News.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI prefer to buy local rice directly from market women\u2014unbranded\u2014rather than risk buying fake products from supermarkets,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is not the first time the FCCPC has intervened in the food retail sector. In 2024, the commission uncovered expired and mispriced rice in several supermarkets across the Wuse area of Abuja.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The commission\u2019s latest action comes amid growing concerns over food inflation, with rice\u2014a staple food\u2014fast becoming a luxury item in many Nigerian homes.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The deceptive practices in the rice trade have only worsened the burden on consumers while enriching a few unscrupulous players.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel Adaji The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) on Tuesday, clamped down on traders at the Utako Market in Abuja, sealing several shops for allegedly re-bagging local rice&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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