Abuja: FCCPC Raids Utako Market Of Fake Foreign Rice, To Sanction Culprits

Ahead of this year’s Easter celebration, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has raided about ten shops of fake foreign rice in Utako Market of the Federal Capital Territory.

Leading the Enforcement Team of FCCPC to the Market in Utako Abuja, the Director, Surveillance and Investigations in the Commission, Mrs Boladale Adeyinka said the raid was based on an intelligence from the brand owners and some concerned consumers that Nigeria’s rice is being packaged as foreign rice thereby deceiving unsuspected citizens.

According to Mrs Boladale Adeyinka, the action of market cartel rebagging local rice as foreign one’s is in violation of consumer’s right and economic interest.

“Based on an intelligence that there’s rebagging of foreign brands of rice and also the intelligence from the brand owners that the brands are no longer in the market hence the need for the enforcement operation to confirm and validate the intelligence that our own rice is being packaged as foreign brands and sold as foreign rice” She said

In her words”Because the appetite of some Nigerian consumers are for foreign brands which are no longer in the market again giving room for the market cartel to start going about repackaging the local rice and selling them as foreign rice and that’s exploitative, against consumer’s rights and economic interest “.

The Director stated that FCCPC would not tolerate the sales of branded bags announced that the Commission would also go after the mailers deceiving unsuspected Nigerian consumers.

While expressing concern over the unpatriotic act, Mrs Boladale Adeyinka explained that the enforcement exercise would be a continuous one towards sanitizing Nigerian markets of fake and substandard products.

The FCCPC Director of Surveillance and Investigations said the Commission’s administrative penalty and fines would be administered on the culprits to serve as deterrent to others.

Mrs Boladale Adeyinka reiterated the commitment of FCCPC towards protecting the rights and economic interest of Nigerian consumers to enable them have values for their money.