The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
(FCCPC) has said it is engaging pay television company, MultiChoice Nigeria,
for clarity over the increase in subscription rates.
Mr Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC,
said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on
Wednesday.
Irukera said the engagement was to check whether the company
implemented a change in terms and conditions in line with the Commission’s
mandated steps.
According to him, our orders were broad and it will be
important that compliance is prioritised.
“Although we cannot, and did not regulate price except in
limited circumstances requiring presidential approval and gazetting.
“As such, our order to MultiChoice did not prevent them from
pricing their services in a manner acceptable between them and their
subscribers.
“We regulate price gouging. The nature of gouging is
post-fact, meaning that when a price movement occurs, we can investigate to
determine if it is excessive, exploitative, unrestored or manifestly unjust.
“Such is a very intricate investigation and the fact of the
existence of any increase is not the entire evidence.
“There is a method to analyse the increase and other
circumstances leading to it.
“As in the case of pharmacies, we are prosecuting for
inordinate increases of certain products during early stages of the COVID-19
pandemic.
“For now, the first check with MultiChoice is whether they
implement, or intend to, a material change in terms and conditions (of which
price is one) without the steps the Commission has mandated as conditions
precedent,’’ he said.
Recall that MultiChoice on Tuesday, announced the increase
in DStv and GOtv subscription rates, blaming it on the rising cost of inflation
and business operations.
The rates are Xtraview +PVR access fee formally N2,300, now
N2,900, Business will now go for N2,669, Padi formally N1,850 will now be
N2,150, Yanga formally N2,565 will now be N2,950, Confam formally N4,615 will
now be N5,300.
Also, Compact formally N7,900 will now be N9,000, Compact
Plus formally N12,400 will now be N14,250, while Premium which was N18,400 will
now go for N21,000.
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