BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
A latest report unveiled by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has revealed that banking and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FCMG) led consumer complaints across key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The report, which covered cases lodged with the commission between March and August, 2025, was compiled from FCCPC complaint resolution platforms, a situation that provided insight into the patterns and prevalence of consumer dissatisfaction across 30 sectors.
Key findings indicated that the top 10 sectors were led by banking (3,173 complaints); followed by FCMG (1,543); fintech (1,442), and electricity (458).
Others were e-commerce (412); telecommunications (409); retail/wholesale/shopping (329); aviation (243); information technology (131), and road transport and logistics (114).
While 9091 complaints were sorted out during the period under review, the consumer grievances ranged from unfair charges, service failure, unauthorised deductions, deceptive marketing, poor disclosure of terms, product defects, and failure to provide redress within acceptable timelines.
This was even as the commission recovered ₦10 billion for aggrieved consumers, reflecting both the scale of harm and significant financial burden borne by consumers in the absence of effective redress.
Also, the publication of sector-specific complaint data aligned with the commission’s mandate under Sections 17(a), 17(j) of the FCCPA 2018, which empowered it to enforce consumer protection laws and make information on its functions available to the public.
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Tunji Bello said that the recoveries were not merely statistics but depicted the story of consumer frustration, and daily challenges Nigerians faced in essential services.
He noted that FCCPC is determined to hold businesses accountable, ensure compliance with the FCCPA, and promote fair market practices that protect the welfare of all consumers.
Banking is the dominant source of consumer complaints, both in volume and financial exposure, highlighting recurring issues in loan deductions, account charges, and transaction disputes, and reflecting public reliance on the FCCPC to intervene in systemic financial service challenges.
Banking and fintech dominated by financial impact, showed consumer vulnerability where services are both essential and high value, signalling an urgent need for stronger joint regulation with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
With 458 reported complaints, the electricity sector ranks 4th overall, behind banking, financial services, and FCMG, highlighting persistent billing disputes, service delivery failures, and the need for stronger coordination between the FCCPC, NERC, state electricity regulatory agencies and electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
E-commerce disputes are relatively low-value but high-frequency, signalling broad consumer exposure at the retail level. While average monetary losses per complaint are low, the volume and recurrence of disputes (deliveries, refunds, counterfeit goods) reveal e-commerce as a growing consumer pain point.
Interestingly, report of the high incidence of disputes linked to digital lending, investment schemes, and microfinance services coincided with the unveiling of a new regulation by FCCPC to curb abuses in the digital lending sector.
The commission is intensifying monitoring, enforcement, and collaboration with sector regulators to address the concerns. Focus is on financial and utility services, where recurring patterns of consumer exploitation require corrective action.
FCCPC encouraged regulated entities to study the data trends and strengthen internal mechanisms for handling consumer complaints, ensuring that issues are addressed promptly and equitably.
Consumers are encouraged to continue reporting violations through the FCCPC complaint portal: complaints.fccpc,gov.ng, or FCCPC zonal and state offices. Every report assists the commission in identifying systemic issues and enforcing compliance.
This was contained in a statement by the Director of Corporate Affairs, FCCPC, Ondaje Ijagwu in Abuja.
Comments
Post a Comment