NIGERIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Chiagozie Hilary-Nwokonko and Chukwuyere Ebere Izuogu, Streamsowers & Köhn
Streamsowers & Köhn 16D Akin Olugbade Street Victoria Island Lagos Nigeria Tel: +234 1 271 2276 Email: info@sskohn.com Web: sskohn.com
Introduction In 2024, the Federal Competition and Con - sumer Protection Commission (FCCPC or the Commission) underwent significant leadership changes. On 25 July 2024, Mr Tunji Bello for - mally assumed office as the new Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission following his appoint - ment by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of the time of writing, the strate - gic enforcement priorities and policy direction under the new leadership remain to be clearly articulated. Stakeholders across sectors are, therefore, interested in understanding how the new administration will build on existing man - dates and whether it will introduce new focus areas in competition enforcement and consumer protection. However, Nigeria’s competition law landscape did experience some significant regulatory and enforcement developments, particularly in the area of merger control administered by the FCCPC. According to data published on the FCCPC’s website, A total of sixty-five mergers have been notified to the Commission between 1 January 2024 and the date of this writing. These include a joint venture arrangement and
two asset acquisitions. This represents a marked increase in the volume of notified transactions compared to previous years. The notifications span a wide range of sectors, including telecom - munications, oil and gas, technology, power and electricity, carbonated soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Notably, the data reflects a discern - ible trend of divestments in the oil and gas sec - tor, with Nigerian companies, rather than multi - national corporations, emerging as the primary acquirers of significant and controlling interests in companies and assets previously held by international oil companies (IOCs). This shift sig - nals a growing domestic participation in the sec - tor. Furthermore, the upward trend in merger fil - ings reflects both growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic environment and an increas - ing awareness among transaction parties of the obligation to notify qualifying mergers under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (FCCPA). The Merger Control Regime Under the ECOWAS Competition Framework On 2 October 2024, the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) Council members were formally constituted. Prior to this devel - opment, qualifying mergers within the ECO -
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