The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has issued a directive mandating supermarkets and grocery stores across the state to display prices on their products.
LASCOPA agency warned that failure to comply with this regulation could result in fines or even closure of the stores.
In a statement released on Saturday via the official website of the Lagos State Government, LASCOPA stressed the importance of transparency in pricing to protect consumers from potential exploitation.
LASCOPA Mandates Supermarkets To Display Price Tags On Products
The agency noted that the absence of price tags on products can lead to misunderstandings and inconveniences during transactions.
Afolabi Solebo, the General Manager of LASCOPA, stressed that the lack of price tags violates consumer rights as enshrined in the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency Law.
He stated that without clear price tags, shoppers are unable to compare prices or make informed decisions about their purchases, thereby undermining their consumer rights.
Solebo stated that such practices contradict the Consumer Protection Act, which mandates the clear display of prices for goods and services.
He warned that non-compliance with the law would result in fines in accordance with consumer protection laws, and the agency would not hesitate to seal supermarkets found guilty of non-disclosure of price tags.
The statement urged consumers to report any instances of non-compliance to LASCOPA, stressing the agency’s commitment to enforcing price transparency standards across supermarkets and grocery stores in Lagos State.
This crackdown on price transparency in Lagos follows a similar incident in February, where the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission sealed a popular supermarket in Abuja, Sahad Store, for lack of transparency in pricing practices.
All You Need To Know About Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA)
The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) was established on the need to engender a mechanism for consumers’ protection and ensure that consumers in the state have value for their money and create a sustainable confidence in them.
A law known as the Lagos State Consumer Protection Committee law, Cap L15, Laws of Lagos, 2003, was enacted and activated in year 2008 with the inauguration of the Lagos State Consumer protection Committee (LSCPC) on the 27th February, 2008.
The impressive performance of the free services provided by the Lagos State Consumer Protection Committee (LSCPC) gave room to the further enactment of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) law, cap C13 laws of Lagos State, 2014.
The Agency was established to uphold the rights of consumers in Lagos State and saddled with the following functions:
- Ensure speedy redress of consumer complaints through negotiation, mediation or conciliation
- Advise the State Government on consumer protection policies
- Ensure the replacement of hazardous products with safe products and seek ways and means of eliminating hazardous products from the market in conjunction with the relevant Government Agencies
- Initiate investigation in its own name whether upon the receipt of a complaint or not
- Publish from time to time the list of products the consumption and sale of which have been banned, withdrawn, restricted or not approved by the appropriate Federal Government Agencies
- Cause an offending company, firm trade association or individual to compensate or provide relief to injured consumers or communities as a result of adverse effects of harmful products
- Organize and undertake campaigns lectures or other forms of activities that may lead to increased public consumer awareness, enlightenment and conduct public information campaigns for the purpose of educating and advising consumers in relation to consumer protection and welfare
- Encourage trade industry and professional associations to develop and enforce in their various fields, quality standards designed to safeguard the interest of consumers
- Encourage the formation of voluntary consumer group or association for the interest of the consumer
- Cause where necessary, quality tests to be conducted on a consumer product
- Apply to Court to prevent the circulation of any product which constitutes an imminent public hazard, enforce and protect the right of consumers, or seek relief or compensation for injured consumers where negotiation, conciliation or mediation fails
