By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An innovative product designed to help consumers conveniently have their parcels or purchased items picked up or delivered seamlessly has been introduced by Uber.

This product Uber package product known as Courier, allows consumers to book a delivery person to collect their prepaid items from stores, whether purchased in-store or online.

To use the service, consumers simply need to prepare the item for pickup, select “Courier” on the Uber app, choose the delivery type (send or receive), input the pickup and delivery addresses, and review the terms and conditions. Upon confirmation of the request, the consumer can monitor the delivery progress in real time via the app.

With store pickups, one can upload a picture of his or her receipt and provide specific instructions for the driver regarding where and how to pick up the items. Additionally, the driver can interact with the store on the customer’s behalf.

Safety remains a core principle that Uber embeds into all products and services. With Store Pickups, users can take advantage of Live Tracking, which allows them to follow the pickup and delivery of their items, and PIN Verification, which provides a unique PIN that the delivery person can use to verify that the correct item has been collected or delivered.

Commenting on this innovation, the Country Manager for Uber in Nigeria, Tope Akinwumi, said, “We aim to stay close to the evolving needs of our consumer base and the introduction of Store Pickups with Courier demonstrates this understanding.

“With Courier, one can send or receive items and also have purchased items picked up in-store, providing convenience for consumers and allowing them to spend more time with loved ones this festive season.”

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

It was a fun-filled day for friends and associates of a Lagos-based real estate company, Metro and Castle Limited, on Saturday, December 14, 2024.

The firm had its 2024 Realtors Hangout and it attracted several notable personalities and realtors, who gathered to celebrate with Metro and Castle at one of its newly-built facilities, Metro Homes, in the Ajah area of Lagos State.

The company also commissioned its newly built training centre, which can accommodate 150 people at a time. According to the organisation’s chief executive, Mr Adekunle Abdul, this facility will be used strictly for free training.

He informed guests at the event that, “This year has been pretty tough; there has been a lot of ups and downs. The forecast never comes to reality, but you wake up tomorrow and see all kinds of figures changing, and as a real estate professional, we are figure-oriented, you know, construction is one thing that if you miss the figures, you miss the business.

“In the midst of all that, God was able to come through, we are able to see through, we are able to manoeuvre through obstacles.

“All the projects that we set out to deliver this year were delivered; this is actually the last one. Unfortunately, the other ones are on the main road; they are apartments. We don’t build apartments inside; we build them on the main road.

“We delivered over 32 apartments, 2 blocks outside, over 16 units of terraces on the inside. The project for 2025 is already starting at the back, work is already going on.”

Speaking further, he said, “The most important thing in any business is brand building. Regardless of what the economic situation says, people will always need shelter, and when it gets tough, they will want to choose or go with the best in the market at that point.

“So, I would say that we leveraged our brand integrity; we are not on any news, we’ve never been on any social media platform, what you see is what you get.”

“Based on the referrals, people want to invest safely at this period; you can’t afford loss of funds in this economy, and people want to know that they are working with a real estate company that can deliver.

“I think for us, out of over 48 units, we only have 5 left here, everything has been sold out completely, so those that are buying are buying, that’s the truth,” he added.

Commenting on the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Mr Abdul said the company gave a prayer partner a house and donated 15 solar street lights.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has urged the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal to dismiss Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited’s (CCNL) amended appeal against the N186,666,666.67 penalty imposed for its labelling and marketing practices.

According to a statement shared by the consumer protection agency, the FCCPC had previously imposed a N186 million penalty on CCNL.

This is after formally accusing Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd and its sister company of misleading trade descriptions and employing unfair marketing tactics in their products, Original Taste and Less Sugar.

However, CCNL appealed the commission’s decision, describing the penalty as “outrageous” and alleging that the FCCPC lacked jurisdiction to impose and enforce such orders.

The company argued that the FCCPC had assumed judicial powers that should be exercised by the tribunal.

In a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the FCCPC alleged that Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd and NBC deceived the public by describing the variant Coca-Cola Original Taste, Less Sugar as identical to Coca-Cola Original Taste in terms of formulation.

“Furthermore, Coca-Cola and NBC, after regulatory intervention, failed to take appropriate steps to address their misleading behaviour. This demonstrates that the companies intentionally misrepresented Coca-Cola Original Taste, Less Sugar as Coca-Cola Original Taste as part of a deliberate business strategy,” the commission added.

Coca-Cola, through its counsel, Mr Gbolahan Elias SAN, approached the tribunal, citing 15 legal grounds against the FCCPC’s decision.

CCNL also claimed that the FCCPC acted as complainant, investigator, prosecutor, and judge, thereby violating the company’s constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair hearing.

In its formal reply to CCNL’s amended appeal dated October 22, 2024, FCCPC lawyer Abimbola Ojenike raised 13 opposing grounds against the brand’s request to quash the penalty and accusations.

The FCCPC argued that Coca-Cola’s claims of procedural unfairness and bias are baseless. It emphasized that the company was provided with extensive opportunities for a fair hearing, including participation in investigations, written submissions, and multiple consultative meetings.

It claimed that Coca-Cola allegedly admitted to regulatory violations and pledged remedial actions but failed to differentiate its Coca-Cola Original from Coca-Cola Less Sugar.

The FCCPC also maintained that it has the statutory authority to issue and enforce orders, and nothing in Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution invalidates the administrative penalties or directives issued under the FCCPA.

The commission asserted its authority to investigate consumer and competition issues related to misleading branding and labelling practices under several sections of the FCCPA, 2018.

FCCPC stated that its findings on Coca-Cola’s products are valid, legally justifiable, and supported by evidence in its final investigative report and maintained that its findings are factual and verifiable, based on due process.

The FCCPC also denied making any conclusive findings on CCNL’s abuse of market dominance.