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The House of Representatives has tasked the Central bank of Nigeria to make proactive regulations to curb the extremism of unscrupulous online loan providers in Nigeria.
The position followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Need to Apply Stringent Measures to Curtail the Excesses of Online Loan Providers”, brought by
Hon. Akin Alabi, representing Egbeda Ona Ara Federal constituency of Oyo State.
Alabi,in the motion,noted that the coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic’s far–reaching impacts on the global economy has been
significant, with evidence across all sectors of the economy.
He said to cushion the impact of the pandemic, a rising number of Nigerians have resorted to digital lenders to sort out urgent financial needs as access to loans from the traditional financial institutions is often a long process
He lamented that there is a growing increase in the number of digital lending service providers who have seemingly simplified the lending process and increased access to loans remotely and quickly.
The lawmakers,who adopted the motion, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to check mate the peculiarity of the operations of on-line money renders and make feasible regulations to vindicate the borrowers.
They further noted that several lending platforms are operating outside the principles of lawful processing of personal data as required under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation and other relevant provisions on data protection in Nigeria.
The House has also agreed to take proactive measures to curb the extremism of the unscrupulous online loan scammers.
The House is also disturbed that some online lenders operating in the country do not have a privacy notice while some privacy
notice of those who have often not comprehensive enough to explain how a user’s data is processed.
It said “the recovery agents for the lending firms are mostly unprofessional and often apply unethical methods including impersonating lawyers and security officers, in a bid to recover borrowed funds from defaulting clients.”
The lawmakers, in their presentations argued that the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation was established due to the government’s recognition that information must be safeguarded, regulated and protected against atrocious breaches.
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