FCCPC Reveals Why Multichoice Hike Price

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Acting Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Adamu Abdullahi revealed that Multichoice had sent a four-page letter outlining the rationale for the pricing increases for its cable services, DStv and GOtv. According to Abdullahi, the company mentioned the cost of electricity, the operation of generators, and limited access to dollars as some of the reasons for the price hike.

THE MATRIX obtained this information via an interview with Channels TV that was uploaded on Sunday.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are two regulatory entities that the commission will consult in the examination of the reasons given by Multichoice, he added.

According to Abdullahi, the commission will not hesitate to sanction the firm if it discovers that their prices are arbitrary or it is in any way manipulating the market.

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“We got a four-page letter from Multichoice, telling us the reason that led to this price increase. What we need to do is to bring in NCC and maybe NBC and Multichoice, sit down and look at all these variables that they claim caused the rise in prices.

“At a glance, we saw things like the cost of electricity, running generators, the cost of dollars for spare parts and so on. We’ll go through these items individually and find out how they have affected their operations.

“By and large, that’s the claim of what they are doing because they are a dominant player in this market. People have no choice but to go to them for Cable television, so that’s why they are doing what they are doing.

“If by any chance we find out or we can confirm that that’s what they are doing, again we go back to the law and do what we are supposed to do,” Abdullahi said.