DAILY POST
Following complaints by travellers over the continuous hike in airfare, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has commenced an investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the development.
Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja.
The FCCPC boss, who narrated several achievements of the Commission since its inception, lamented that there are difficulties in determining price hikes, particularly regarding airfare.
He said, “There is a provision in the law against price gouging. Nigeria is a free economy. The best price, and a constitutionally legitimate adopted price for anything, is negotiated between a buyer and a seller in a free market.
“Airfare remains the most complex area for this. For instance, it is possible to travel the shortest distance and even pay more. Someone sitting beside you may even pay something different.”
Irukera also told journalists that the agency lacks the constitutional power to impose prices on goods and services, saying Nigeria has a free market where the seller and the buyer determine costs.
