FCCPC pledges closer cooperation with journalists on consumer rights reporting

Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has pledged to consider a request for training and increased engagement with journalists covering competition and consumer protection issues. FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tunji Bello made the commitment while receiving executive members of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. He was represented at the meeting by Executive Commissioner for Operations Louis Odion, according to a statement issued on Sunday.

Bello said competition reporting was relatively new in Nigeria and that journalists needed appropriate knowledge to explain the work of regulators and the rights of consumers. He said stakeholder education had become a priority because competition law and consumer protection regulation were still developing areas in the country. The FCCPC chief said the commission had also recently supported a training programme for judges through the National Judicial Institute.

According to Bello, competition experts were involved because judges were not yet familiar with the subject’s technical issues. Bello also credited the media with helping to increase public awareness of the FCCPC. He said many Nigerians had been largely unfamiliar with the agency until recent years, adding that sustained reporting and prominent coverage of the commission’s statements had helped raise its public profile.

He reaffirmed the commission’s willingness to support stakeholders within its available resources and said the agency financed major parts of its operations, including litigation, staff welfare and regulatory activities, through internally generated revenue. CICAN Abuja chairman Gabriel Kuma said the association supported constructive journalism and stronger engagement with regulatory institutions. He said an effective relationship should be based on openness, accountability, professionalism, mutual respect and access to accurate information.

The association is also scheduled to mark its 20th anniversary with a national dialogue on the Federal Government’s $1 trillion economy agenda in Abuja on October 20, 2026.