For this country to get out of the current economic doldrums, it is crucial for the government and other stakeholders to ensure that all regulators in all sectors perform their tasks with sincerity of purpose. They must live above board. This involves integrity, honesty, and transparency. There should be no hidden agenda, or reason to suspect that there is a hidden plan in the performance of their official duties. It is the way to earn respect and acceptance for any decision taken by any regulator, and when this is the case, the economy will be on the right path to revival and progress, otherwise, all efforts to fix it may end up as exercises in futility.

Any decision by any regulator that smacks of discrimination or harassment of any operator as has been seen in the dispute between the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and MultiChoice over adjustment of tariffs may further hurt the economy that is in shambles, with more consequences for Nigerians. We don’ want that to happen. We should do everything possible to avoid it, particularly in a country that is spending huge sums of money scouting for foreign investors. Our policies and action should not constitute a threat to business survival. It will scare investors away.

When the faceoff between the FCCPC and MultiChoice, the operator of the pay-TV outfits, DStv and GOtv, broke out over upward adjustments in tariffs which was announced to take effect from March 1, 2025, many Nigerians wondered why the development generated so much noise, realising that it happened at a time when price increase became the survival strategy in almost all sectors, including power, health, education, oil, and even entertainment where MultiChoice belongs. It was hinged on the incontestable argument that the cost of doing business in the country had gone up due to high inflation, depreciation in the value of the naira, increasing energy cost, skyrocketing price of fuel, and escalating insecurity, among others.

Many people did not expect the matter to get to court. It was thought that the two parties would be able to amicably resolve it, but the insistence of the FCCPC that MultiChoice should suspend the adjustments until it had conducted its investigation to determine the propriety or otherwise of the new prices most probably dragged the issue to court. And it turned out that the ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja is not too different from the opinions of those who, before the case was filed, wrote and made comments on the matter, urging the commission to be cautious in its handling of the issue which was already looking like illegal intervention in the operation of the company and a violation of its rights.

Justice James Omotosho noted that while FCCPC has investigative power under its establishing Act, it lacks the authority to fix or suspend prices unless specifically delegated by the president of the country to do so and it should be through a gazetted instrument. No such delegation was presented in court. The judge explained that Nigeria operates a free market system where service providers such as MultiChoice reserves the right to set their prices, with consumers or subscribers free to accept or reject them.

According to Justice Omotosho, the actions of the FCCPC, including the directive that MultiChoice should suspend its new prices breached the company’s right to fair hearing and appeared selectively targeted. The judge went ahead to warn that attempts to fix prices by regulatory bodies could scare off investors and harm the nation’s economy. This is one of the fears of many Nigerians who felt that the way FCCPC handled the matter could negatively affect the current efforts of President Bola Tunubu to fix the economy partly by attracting new foreign investors to Nigeria amid the unfortunate exit of multinational companies from the country due to what they described as harsh business environment.

The claim by the commission that Multichoice was holding a dominant market position was thrown out by the court, which described it as untenable. The only person that has the power to fix price in the country is the president, and it should be done under special circumstances. Usually, any product or service that is so affected should be one that is crucial to the existence and survival of the people. Justice Omotosho ruled that the use of services like those provided by the plaintiff is discretionary and not essential as Nigerians can do without them.

Among the worries is that it should not have taken the FCCPC the court ruling to know the limit of its power and the circumstances under which certain decisions should be taken or directives issued. Is there no legal department in the commission? Don’t they consult other experts in legal and economic matters? A brilliant economist would have advised the commission against perceiving MultiChoice as a monopoly. Is the company preventing others from entering the pay-TV space? The entertainment market is a tough one that takes sustained infrastructural development, trust, resilience and good content to succeed. If others are not entering or those who entered tried and failed, can we blame MultiChoice for their failure? Rather, we should encourage other investors to come in and prove themselves. Let them come and do something different and better and force the prices to be reduced. That is how we can develop the sector, and indeed every other sector. That is how the FCCPC should defend the interest of Nigerian subscribers. No new comer should be afraid of competition, and no company should be destroyed for any other one to emerge.

It is also very important to consider possible consequences of some actions that we take as government agencies or institutions. The high level of unemployment in the country today that cannot be excused from the high level of criminality in the land should matter to us when dealing with companies, including MultiChoice, that constitute sources of livelihood and stability to thousands of families. A fact is that businesses are run to make profit. Companies are investments that are strongly expected to yield returns. When the situation in a country is such that jerks up the cost of doing business, it will always affect the consumers of products and services as is now the case with many businesses. We can’t blame those increasing their prices. What we should do is to address the cause or causes.

We have seen similar reaction to the strangulating economic situation in the country by even government agencies that approved 50 per cent increase in data cost for telecom operators to survive in their business and raised tariffs to prevent electricity companies from going under. If MultiChoice is not in a position to break even and it joins others exiting the Nigeria, what happens to the over 30 thousands of its employees in a country where the labour market is already saturated?

Now that the court has given judgement, and spelt out what can be done and what cannot be done, the FCCPC and MultiChoice should work together in the interest of subscribers, considering the fact that the economic situation in the country has already placed heavy financial burden on Nigerians. Generally, there should be sincere relationship between the commission and service providers in the interest of consumers. The government should take pragmatic steps to tackle the rising inflation, be consistent with its economic policies, build investors confidence in Nigeria and reduce the cost of doing business in the country. It remains the best way to protect the citizens.