Constituency Building for Competition Reforms in West Africa
FINAL PROJECT CONFERENCE
Strengthening Constituencies for Effective Competition Regimes in Select
West African Countries (7Up4 project)
6-7 August 2010
Hotel Novotel, Dakar, Senegal
OUTPUT, OUTCOME AND IMPACT OF THE 7Up4 PROJECT
IN NIGERIA.
Presented by
ADEDEJI, Babatunde Abiodun
Coordinator-General,
Consumers Empowerment Organisation of Nigeria (CEON)
Email: adedejia67@yahoo.com; ceon_camon@yahoo.com; info@ceon-camon.org
Tel Mob: +234-7030-330-199 ; +234-8077-576-604
www.ceon-camon.org
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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GENERAL BACKGROUND
- SITUATION BEFORE 7Up4 PROJECT• No competition policy
• No competition law
• Six draft competition bills at the national Assembly (non
passed into law)
• General Low awareness on competition issues among
stakeholders (Government, Consumers, Media,
Parliamentarians)
• Lack of consensus among relevant Government MDAs on
which Ministry or Agency to house the new Competition
Agency
• Absence of non-state actors / NGOs advocacy activities on
Competition Law and Issues
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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ACTIVITIES OF 7Up4 PROJECT
(as conducted in Nigeria)
•
•
•
•
Research
Capacity Building Training (NTW)
Dialogue / Meeting
Advocacy
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTPUT (Research)
• Preliminary Country Paper
- a base paper that assisted members of the NRG to enter into the
debate on competition.
- It laid the foundation for the more detailed research
• Country Research Report
- It revealed advocacy issues for roadmap to competition reforms
in Nigeria
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTPUT (Capacity Building Training)
• National Training Workshop
Increased understanding and appreciation of
competition laws and issues by Stakeholders (Government
representatives, Media, CSOs, Business Associations etc)
Profile of competition policy, law and issues within the
context of national development raised among the relevant
Government Ministries and Agencies involves in the issue of
competition in Nigeria.
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTPUT (Dialogue/Meeting)
• National Reference Group (NRG)
- NRG constituted and transformed into informal national
stakeholders on competition reforms and consumer
protection in Nigeria
- Consensus drafting of roadmap to competition reforms in
Nigeria by representatives of Government agencies, CSOs,
Development Programmes (ENABLE), and Business
Association (MAN)
-A channel enabling NRG members’ discussions and action
points on project findings to inform policy established.
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTPUT (Roles of Media)
• over 20 publications/reports of 7Up4 project
activities in print media and six reports of events in
electronic media – radio and TV)
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
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OUTPUT (Roles of CEON)
• Credibility of CEON asserted as ‘actor’ in national
competition reforms – thus motivating us to pursue
the competition reforms agenda further in future.
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTCOME
• Resuscitation of discussion / dialogue among relevant
government agencies on the need for competition law
and policy in Nigeria
• Relevant government agencies competing for host of
proposed competition commission in charge of
competition issue were brought together and now speak
with one voice on roadmap to competition reforms in
Nigeria (Government agencies like: BPE, CPC, FMJ, NERC,
FMC&I, NIPC)
• Increase / better reporting on completion law and issues
in the media
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTCOME (Cont.)
• Process for Advocacy activities for competition reforms in
Nigeria Initiated
• Initiation of efforts at establishing a National Competition
Policy
• Process to stop the proliferation of Draft Competition Bills
at the National Assembly Initiated
• Invitation of Mr. Adedeji Babatunde, Coordinator-General,
CEON (last month, July 2010) to participate in the Inaugural
Dialogue of the Business Environment Network (BEN)
which activities focused on “enhancing the legislative and
institutional framework for the effective and efficient
resolution of business-related disputes in Nigeria”
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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OUTCOME (Cont.)
• The BEN is an Incorporated Trustee whose membership is made up
of some Honourable Members of the House of Representatives
(‘The House’). The main objective of BEN is to create a platform for
the education and dialogue amongst the various arms of
Government, the Private Sector and interested Stakeholders in
general about business-related bills that are brought before the
House before these are passed into law.
• The House of Representative Committee on Commerce also sent
two draft bills (i) An Act to Regulate the Business of Equipment
Leasing in Nigeria of 2009 and (ii) A bill for an Act to establish the
Chartered Institute of Professional Secretariat Staff of Nigeria of
2008 to CEON in March this year for Input and also for CEON to
participate at the public hearing on the two bills.
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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CEON`S FUTURE PLANS IN NIGERIA ON
COMPETITION ISSUES
• Initiate discussion for establishment of a National
Competition Policy
• To stop the proliferation of Draft Competition Bills at the
National Assembly (6 draft Bills with none passed into law)
and advocate for enactment of one of bills into law.
• To increase awareness on the benefits of an effective
competition regime amongst politicians and law makers in
Nigeria.
• Continuing with efforts to boost awareness of competition
issues among all key stakeholders (government, sector
regulators, business etc)
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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CEON`S FUTURE PLANS IN NIGERIA ON
COMPETITION ISSUES (Cont.)
• To sustain the current dialogue and understanding among
the relevant government agencies members of the NRG on
the ideal host’ of the proposed competition authority, AND
on consensus bill out of the present six draft bills to be push
forward for adoption / enactment into Law.
• Strong lobby / representation to the Presidency on the need
for Presidential influence to accelerate the process of
enactment of Nigeria Competition Law.
• To reduce the impact of vested interests and strong lobbies
against a competition law in Nigeria.
• To sensitise and educate the common consumers and
general public on competition issues and its benefits.
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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CEON`S FUTURE PLANS IN NIGERIA ON
COMPETITION ISSUES (Cont.)
• To conduct capacity building training targeted at Media
representatives in the Lagos region of the country.
• To carry-out advocacy for the introduction of degree
programme on competition policy, law and consumer
protection in the Nigeria Universities
• To involve other supporting institutions and donors in these
activities.
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CONCLUSION
• CEON firmly believes that the operationalization of this
advocacy roadmap with the involvement of CPC and other key
national stakeholders, would not only lead to the enactment
of a ‘need-based’ competition law in the Nigeria but also
provide the enabling environment for the effective
enforcement of the competition regime
• CEON is therefore soliciting for continue funding /support
from donor agencies (DFID, IDRC, Govt of Sweden) and other
institutions /donors like ECOWAS Secretariat to sustain future
activities of competition reforms in Nigeria to the benefit of
economic growth, development and welfare of vulnerable
consumers in Nigeria.
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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APPRECIATION
• To: DONORS AGENCIES
- DFID
- IDRC
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden
For funding support to 7Up4 project (and still count on the
donor agencies for their continue funding of future activities
on this project)
• TO: CUTS
For opportunity given CEON as Nigeria Country Partner for this
project.
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THANK YOU
ADEDEJI, Babatunde Abiodun
Coordinator-General
Consumers Empowerment Organisation of Nigeria
(CEON)
Email: adedejia67@yahoo.com; ceon_camon@yahoo.com;
info@ceon-camon.org
Tel Mob: +234-7030-330-199 ; +234-8077-576-604
www.ceon-camon.org
Output, Outome and Impact of 7Up4
Project activities in Nigeria by CEON
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