FCCPC SEALS SAHAD STORE IN ABUJA OVER HOARDING OF FOOD ITEMS

An agency of the Federal government, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has sealed Sahad Store, a popular supermarket in the Garki area of Abuja.

Officers of the enforcement team were led by the FCCPC Acting Executive Vice Chairman, Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi, to seal Sahad Store premises on Friday.

FCCPC was accusing the management of the supermarket of shortchanging customers.

Sahad Store is said to indulge in the practice of charging customers to pay prices for items at the point of payment different from what the price tag indicated at the shelves.

FCCPC Acting Executive Vice Chairman, Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi briefed newsmen later.

He explained that the commission has conducted a preliminary investigation, which confirmed that the management of the supermarket were short changing customers.

“What we have found out that these people are doing is misleading pricing and lack of transparency in the pricing, which is against Section 115 (3) of the law that says a consumer is not required to pay a price for any good or service higher than the one that’s on display.

“Section 155 states that any corporate person that contravenes is liable to a fine of 100 million naira or even more and the directors of the company themselves are liable upon conviction payment of 10 million naira each or imprisonment of six months or both.

“What we have done today is to make sure that they comply with the law. We initially called them to come and defend themselves, but failed to show up.

“In the long run, they sent a lawyer whom we asked if he was familiar with the facts of the case. He said he wasn’t.

“To unseal the store, they have to make sure that they do what is required to be done.”

The action of FCCPC is coming barely 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu had unveiled plans to tackle factors that are responsible for the current food crisis in the country.