By Seun Ibiyemi
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it has concluded investigations into the high airfares charged by airlines during the 2025 Yuletide period and may mandate operators to refund passengers for excess charges.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Tunji Bello, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on Thursday in Abuja.
Bello said the commission’s preliminary findings indicated that some airlines may have exploited passengers during the festive season, adding that a final report on the investigation would soon be released.
“Our preliminary report already finds the airlines wanting in that regard. The final report will be issued soon,” he said.
“So we are considering a situation where they will refund the excess charges to passengers, which we believe they exploited.”
According to him, the price of airline tickets rose sharply during the Christmas period, increasing from about N145,000–N150,000 to between N405,000 and N600,000.
Bello described the development as a possible case of collusion among airlines aimed at fixing prices.
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“There are about five or six airlines involved, but I do not want to mention names at this stage,” he said.
The FCCPC boss also revealed that the commission was investigating alleged exploitative pricing in other sectors of the economy, including baby formula, pharmaceuticals, cement and airline tickets, following complaints from consumers.
He explained that although Nigeria operates a free-market economy, the FCCPC would intervene where businesses exploit consumers or engage in unfair market practices.
Bello noted that while inflation is largely driven by macroeconomic factors, practices such as price manipulation, artificial scarcity and deceptive repackaging further increase the burden on consumers.
He said enforcement operations had uncovered deceptive practices, including cases where lower-grade rice was repackaged and sold as premium brands.
According to him, some retailers also manipulate prices at checkouts, charging customers amounts higher than the prices displayed on shelves.
Bello added that some stores in Abuja and other cities had been sealed, while compliance notices were issued to erring businesses.
He warned businesses against exploiting prevailing economic conditions to take advantage of consumers and urged Nigerians to report cases of unfair pricing, deceptive packaging or other exploitative practices through the commission’s complaint channels.
The FCCPC chief further disclosed that the commission helped consumers recover more than N10 billion through dispute resolution between January and October 2025.
He added that the commission was also working with other regulatory agencies to address unethical practices in the digital lending sector and strengthen consumer protection.
On concerns that global geopolitical tensions, particularly the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, could trigger increases in the prices of goods and services, Bello said the commission was closely monitoring the situation.
He stressed that the FCCPC would ensure businesses do not exploit global developments to unjustifiably inflate prices in Nigeria.
