A Paper Presented By:Leonard O. Ugbajah

at the Final Workshop for the CUTS 7Up4 Project In West Africa held in Dakar, Senegal, 6-7th August, 2010.

lennyo2@yahoo.com, basileajuris@yahoo.com.

1. Introduction• The economy…

2. Making a transition- the challenges3. Competition law in Nigeria-the Egg that never

hatches…4. Understanding Government bureaucracy- a hydra

or an octopus?5. Major actors and vested interests6. Towards an inclusive stakeholders-driven

approach7. Mobilising political support…8. All or nothing? What options for developing

countries

◦ Oil and gas dependent◦ Relatively strong industrial base◦ Agriculture is very important too◦ Relatively strong financial services sector◦ Same for telecommunications and IT generally◦ Retail trading◦ Annual growth rate of about 6%◦ Annual GDP of about…◦ Per capita income of about…◦ Enormous potential human capital- population of

about 150 million (144.7 million by the 2006 Census)

◦ Market Reforms in the absence of a competition policy/law – telecoms, power, oil and gas, broadcasting- prevalence of sector specific approach.

◦ Negotiating a difficult bend The challenge of changing cultural attitudes Technical capacity challenges-sound policies,

effective implementation, institutional integrity. Dealing with political interference -let’s kill all the

politicians? Competition policy and law was on the table from the

onset.

• Multiple Bills, lack of co-ordination… ◦ The Federal Competition Commission Bill, 2002◦ The Nigerian Trade and Competition Commission

(NTCC) Bill, 2005◦ The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection

(FCCP)Bill, 2009◦ Members Bills in the National Assembly

A hydra or an octopus? The Executive

◦ MDAS- FMC&I, BPE, MoJ, NIPC, NCC, CPC, etc The Legislature (National Assembly)

◦ The Senate◦ The House of Representatives◦ The Committees

The Judiciary. The Process of law-making in Nigeria

Government Actors- what do they really want?◦ The Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry (FMC&I)◦ The National Council on Privatisation(NCP) /Bureau of

Public Enterprise(BPE)◦ The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)◦ The Consumer Protection Council (CPC)◦ Others.

Non-state Actors- little appreciation and interest ◦ Private sector- formal and informal sectors◦ Civil society , consumer organisations◦ The mass media◦ Labour movements◦ The Competition Law Committee of the Nigerian Bar

Association

What needs to be done-◦ Ironing out the divergent positions of MDAs◦ Well defined pro-development policy objectives

while not sacrificing core principles and international best practices.

◦ Convincing the business community and consumer organisations of the importance of competition law.

◦ Building a private sector driven coalition for advocacy.

Advocacy! Advocacy!! Advocacy!!! How?

◦ Media trainings/sensitisation◦ Sensitisation/lobbying of the law makers and their support staff

– ‘targeting’ may be utilised to build a core of committed advocated within the legislature.

By whom? ◦ The private sector driven coalition.◦ Donor support may be needed

Vested interests…the hawks wont let go easily.◦ Politicians are businessmen- politics often triumphs economy!◦ Vested business interests have well oiled lobbying machinery.◦ But evidence based and strategic advocacy can swing the tide.

Using sector regulators to enforce competition law in the absence of an economy-wide legislation and authority.

The Nigerian experience.◦ Investment and Securities Act (ISA) of 2007◦ Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Act of

2002 and the Competition Regulations of 2008?◦ Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC) Act of

2005 The merits and demerits. One step at a time, we’ll get there!