African Antitrust and competition webinar series: Introduction of competition legislation in Nigeria

We have launched a webinar series focussing on the key developments in African competition law. This webinar series kicked off on April 17, 2019 with the first webinar covering the first six years of the COMESA merger control regime. The topics which will be covered in future webinars will include:

• Developments in merger control in East Africa
• Public interest in African merger control regime
• Developments in national merger control regimes across Africa
• Antitrust enforcement in Africa

In the second webinar, we will focus on the introduction of competition legislation in Nigeria. Many years after competition legislation was first proposed in Nigeria, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) was signed into law by President Buhari earlier this year. 

While the FCCPA is a significant development for Africa’s largest economy, it could also have wider implications for the introduction and implementation of competition legislation in West Africa. As the FCCPA bears strong similarities with aspects of competition legislation in other jurisdictions (such as the South African merger control regime), it is already possible to anticipate potential enforcement approaches and outcomes.

We will be discussing the FCCPA with Jackson, Etti and Edu, a Nigerian law firm, in order to unpack the background of the FCCPA and what it means for business in Nigeria. Participate in our webinar and share our insight on the practical and commercial implications of these developments. 

The themes will include:

• As a competition bill was first proposed in 2002, what led to the FCCPA ultimately being adopted? What can this political and socio-economic context tell us about the likely implementation of the FCCPA? 
• What is the roadmap for the operationalisation of the FCCPA? What steps are being taken and what is the timetable?
• What are the main provisions of the FCCPA? What parallels can be drawn with competition frameworks in other jurisdictions? 
• How can we expect the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to act once operational? What are the likely issues that may arise (e.g. interaction with sector regulators)?
• Given that competition law enforcement in Africa has been largely limited to Eastern and Southern Africa, what does the FCCPA mean for the adoption and implementation of competition legislation in West Africa?