News Highlights
- Nigeria’s electricity sector tops consumer complaints, with issues ranging from erratic supply and billing disputes to unmet Band A and B tariff service commitments.
- The FCCPC is actively monitoring fuel prices, airline fares, and cement costs, while pursuing legal action under the FCCPA to protect consumers.
Nigeria’s electricity sector has emerged as the single largest source of consumer dissatisfaction, driven by persistent supply shortfalls, tariff disputes, and perceived service gaps across distribution networks, according to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The commission disclosed that energy companies generate the highest volume of complaints nationwide, with grievances centred on erratic supply, billing practices, and tariff band implementation.
Executive Vice Chairman Tunji Bello said the agency has received thousands of complaints from electricity consumers and has taken enforcement actions, including a recent intervention against a Lagos distribution company.
“Let me tell you where most complaints come from. Mostly on energy, fintech. For energy, people complain about the electricity supply, and so on. That’s where we get most complaints. And that led to recent action in Lagos against a disco,” Bello said.
During the briefing, FCCPC officials addressed concerns surrounding electricity tariff bands, particularly the controversial Band A classification, under which consumers pay premium rates for enhanced supply.
The Commission’s Executive Commissioner of Operations, Louis Odion, defended the policy framework while acknowledging that promised service levels are not always delivered.
“We are not a price control agency, but what we try to do is to ensure that consumers are not exploited, either by way of the pricing of products or services. In the electricity sector, that is where we have most of the challenges that consumers contend with in this country,” he said.
Odion explained that Band A customers are entitled to at least 20 hours of electricity daily, while Band B customers should receive about 16 hours, urging affected consumers to file formal complaints supported by evidence.
“A lot of times, if you go ask them, they will tell you this estate is actually on Band A, but we haven’t received any formal complaint from the estate as to the fact that this is the number of hours of electricity we are receiving. Our operational work is evidence-based. If we do not have evidence of a particular issue, we are not able to actually act on it,” he stated.
Beyond electricity, the commission is intensifying oversight across other essential sectors to curb consumer exploitation. Bello disclosed that FCCPC monitors have been deployed nationwide to track petrol prices and essential commodities following the escalating United States-Israeli-Iran conflict in the Middle East, warning that fuel costs have cascading effects on food and household expenses.
“We are presently monitoring the situation as it affects prices in Nigeria and various prices. Because it’s not just petrol. Petrol has supply effects on some of the things we eat or we take on a daily basis.
“So we are monitoring. I will still want to see it as a temporary measure. But you know, the federal government under the leadership of our president has recorded massive gains in the last two years, and we don’t want to see this as something that will now begin to offset that progress,” he said.
The agency is working with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to enforce compliance across the fuel supply chain.
“Whatever the fuel suppliers dictate, if the petrol stations are not complying, those are the things we are trying to monitor. If somebody has reduced N100 or N200 from it and you are still selling your own for N1,500 per litre, we should be able to ask you, ‘ Why are you doing that? So those are the things that our monitors are outside already monitoring developments,” Bello added.
In the aviation sector, the commission has concluded investigations into alleged price-fixing by five or six airlines during the December 2025 festive season and may compel refunds for passengers who paid inflated fares.
“We investigated following the complaints that they fixed prices during the Christmas period. Prices of airline tickets were around N45,000 to N50,000, and suddenly became N400,000 to N500,000, from N400,000 to N670,000 during the Christmas period. So we followed up through our investigation, and we were able to conclude that it was a kind of price-fixing mechanism,” Bello said.
He added that the preliminary report already found the airlines culpable and that penalties, including possible refunds, would be announced soon.
The commission is also probing cement pricing nationwide following public outcry over rising construction costs. “We are already investigating the cement prices across the Federation. I don’t want to pre-empt that investigation. We have set up an investigative team already. They are going around at the moment. And I’m sure by the time we come out with our full report, it will be published, and everybody will see,” Bello said.
Meanwhile, the FCCPC’s legal enforcement arm is ramping up prosecutions under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
Head of Legal Services, Chizenum Nsitem, revealed that more than 25 cases have been prosecuted since the law became operational in 2019.
“At the last count, we have over 25 cases that we have been able to prosecute, given the infractions of the provisions of the FCCPA. For the fear of being prosecuted, undertakings have complied relatively with provisions of the FCCPA,” Nsitem said.
He added that over 30 cases are currently pending before the Federal High Court, the FCCPC Tribunal, and the Court of Appeal, underscoring the commission’s expanding enforcement footprint across critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.