Tag: Irukera

Nigeria appoints new chief antitrust enforcer: is it a pure consumer-protection play?

Posted on by Editor

Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, yesterday appointed Mr. Tunji Bello to become the new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice-Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“FCCPC”), subject to review and a vote by the Senate, which is expected to pass without issue.

Observers are noting the relative lack of competition-law / antitrust experience of Mr. Bello (whose prior credentials include State Secretary and Environment Commissioner, both in Lagos State). Mr. Bello, a former journalist, is an unknown to most, if not all, competition-law practitioners. His Wikipedia entry describes him primarily in terms of his career as a journalist, which included international stints as “a Staff Writer with [the] St. Petersburg Times, Florida, US, and also [] US News & World Report, Washington DC in 1992.”

The formal press release (see below) seems to support this sentiment of a purely political appointment without any regard to prior competition-law or economics experience, as it appears to focus solely on “consumer protection” and the “safety of goods and services,” while failing to mention competition or antitrust even once.

We note that some commentators have pointed out, at the cynical end of the spectrum, that this appointment may be due to the FCCPC’s past successes in garnering massive fines (e.g., the $110 million fine imposed against BAT), under recently-dismissed predecessor Babatunde Irukera. Such financial windfalls for the government coffers have, these observers believe, turned the agency’s CEO job, into a highly coveted executive post, which had been temporarily held in an interim capacity by Dr. Adamu Abdullahi between January and Mr. Bello’s appointment yesterday.

AAT is hopeful that this is not the case, and that Mr. Bello will not turn the young and so-far highly-regarded FCCPC into a mere means to an end of generating revenue for the Nigerian government. We trust that the Commission will continue to uphold its mandate of competition-law enforcement and its high standard of excellence, thanks in large part to the leadership of Mr. Bello’s predecessor and the quality of the senior team members he had assembled to run the agency.

Press release:

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Olatunji Bello as the new Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice-Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), pending confirmation by the Senate.

Mr. Bello is a lawyer, administrator, and renowned journalist.

He is the former secretary to the Lagos State Government and holds a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos. He studied Law at the same university and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002.

Mr. Bello began his career in journalism at the Concord Newspapers in 1985 and held the positions of Group Political Editor; Sunday Concord Editor, and Editor, National Concord.

He is a winner of the US Alfred Friendly Press Fellowship and was appointed the Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers in 2001.

He also served as Commissioner for Environment under various administrations in Lagos State.

The President expects that the new Chief Executive Officer of this important agency will ensure the holistic realization of the Commission’s mandate of protecting and promoting the interest and welfare of Nigerian consumers, and ensuring the adoption of measures to guarantee the safety and quality of goods and services.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

June 24, 2024

FCCPC leadership shake-up: Farewell to a Nigerian antitrust legend

Posted on by Editor

AAT is sad (but not surprised) to report that the new Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu has sacked the legendary head of its competition-law enforcer, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera. His termination is with immediate effect. His pro tempore replacement at the agency will be Dr. Adamu Ahmed Abdullahi, as the next-in-command Executive Commissioner of Operations.

While it is certainly not a shocking revelation that incoming administrations frequently shake up their senior agency leadership, it is nonetheless an objective loss to the burgeoning FCCPC, which — under Irukera’s leadership — invariably gained international respect and, indeed, won an award for Nigeria’s most effective government institution.

The reactions of those with personal knowledge of the outgoing FCCPC CEO were almost invariably gloomy. Says Andreas Stargard, a partner with competition firm Primerio Ltd.: “This is a real loss to the Commission, which was literally brought into existence under the aegis of Babatunde. The antitrust community views his departure with dejection and a real concern for the future trajectory of the otherwise blossoming young agency, with which we had nothing but positive experiences so far. Babatunde is a real leader, and I wish him well in his future endeavours — I have a feeling that this is not the last we have seen of him in Nigerian antitrust.“

Messrs. Babatunde Irukera (outgoing FCCPC CEO) and Ali Kamanga (COMESA Competition Commission, CCC) at the first IBA competition-law conference in Lagos, Nigeria (photo: A. Stargard, November 2023)

Other industry voices echoed similar sentiments, with academic Vellah Kigwiru opining that Irukera “had so much to offer for the continent,” while the FCCPC’s Chief Legal Officer, Florence Abebe, stated poignantly:

“He is such an icon. FCCPC cannot be the same. The sadness is real. He took the then-CPC from a T-shirt and face cap wearing council with disgruntled incapacitated staff to what it is today on the continent and globally. Staff welfare was paramount, he prioritised capacity development like no other, he demanded excellence and professionalism from staff; he folded his sleeves and did the work, he wasn’t just directing operations, he was handling himself. While we were preparing, this guy was thinking on his feet. He is a genius, unpredictable, humble, compassionate, patient to the core, and didn’t accept failure. He is an institution!”

Mr. Irukera’s departure comes on the heels of the FCCPC’s record-setting multi-million dollar single-firm conduct settlement with British American Tobacco, on which AAT reported previously.

10 January 2023 update:

After widespread criticism and backlash against the manner in which Mr. Irukera’s departure from the Commission was announced by the new(ish) Nigerian government, the administration revised its statements to the effect of having “relieved [him] of his duties,” as opposed to “dismissed” the CEO. From a tweet: “I have followed the concerns in the media on the report that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dismissed Babatunde Irukera EVC/CEO, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and Alexander Ayoola Okoh — Director-General/CEO, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). The President’s directive did not intend a dismissal. The two men who have served our country were relieved of their duties by the President, as he scouts for their successors. The connotations implied in using the word dismissal were clearly not intended in the statement issued. President Tinubu thanks the two men for their services and wishes them well in their future endeavours.”