The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) say the joint committee tackling the violation of consumer right in the money lending industry will shut down illegal businesses soon as the committee is set to commence enforcement. The Chief Executive officer of the FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera disclosed to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) today in Abuja that the enforcement team will resume action soon. According to the report, the joint committee is made up of representatives from FCCPC, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
It further revealed that other agencies in the team are National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
The FCCPC boss explained that the said committee will be writing interim regulations which the lending companies are supposed to comply with.
Irukera said, the joint committee is meeting and agreeing on how to proceed but I can say that two of the entities of the joint committee will be going on the field and doing enforcement work now, very shortly.
“They will be closing down businesses and engaging App stores to shut down certain applications that are infringing and abusive.
“We are also going to be writing interim regulations and some basic information for all these money lenders to provide information so that people will know who they are.
He added that some of these outlets are just Apps that his office does not even know who their promoters are.
He, therefore, vowed that the committee would make sure they provide a framework that would regulate the businesses of the operators.
Speaking on the increasing number of consumer complaints about services of the insurance companies, Mr. Irukera disclosed his commission was making progress on the memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Insurance Commission (NICOM) to address the matter.
According to him, he would prefer if they can conclude on the MOU early next year to make them have more Industry-wide intervention in that aspect.
He concluded, “We get a lot more complaints about the insured who have paid their premium and are not been settled and so, we are engaging NAICOM on that,”(NAN)
