The Federal Government has said there are about 70 to 90 online lending applications currently operated by various firms in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Federal
Competition & Consumer Protection Commission, Babatunde Irukera, made the
disclosure in Lagos on Thursday, during a collaborative engagement with the
media to review and analyse the state of the market.
He said some of the online apps were
legitimate while others were operating illegally.
“Not all the online loan applications are
illegal. Some are completely illegitimate; some are legitimate but illegitimate
in their approach to tracking debtors. We are against the illegitimate works,”
Irukera said.
The FCCPC boss urged companies to be
responsible and responsive to customer care services.
According to him, the government is more
accessible and easier to find than private individuals because individuals want
to make a profit.
Irukera said, “Government for all its
inefficiencies is more accessible, easier to find than private individuals who
just sell to make a profit.
“Industry must prioritise responsiveness
and responsibility to their customers. Customers responsiveness is a core to
business and FCCPC owes this as a responsibility.”
He said the media is a critical
infrastructure in the constitution obligation of the government to protect the
consumers’ interest.
“What we intend to achieve is to educate
people of their rights,” he said.
Irukera also said that one of the
challenges in the telecommunication sector is transparency in billing.
He said, “Challenge in the
telecommunication is transparency in billing. With data, it is difficult to see
transparency in data billing, transparency is better with voice calls than with
data.”