WATCH | Eritrea’s President Calls for New Global Financial System Not Controlled...

According to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission of Nigeria (FCCPC), the calls for a complete ban on loan apps by some Nigerians are deemed practically impossible due to the operational nature of these apps.

In a local interview, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, said, aside from the fact that banning them totally would not solve the current challenges, the internet allows them to operate from anywhere in the world.

“For a business that can evade regulatory interfaces including operating entirely offshore, and possessing the versatility to evolve, rebrand, relaunch, rebirth, or relocate on the internet and needing no physical location, a ban is at best only a pronouncement, and may very well amount to nothing much more than that,” said Irukera.

According to Irukera, despite the recent registration exercise that involved over 180 digital lenders, some of the registered lenders have been found to create new apps to continue their unethical practices. Nonetheless, he noted that any company found guilty of creating new apps to engage in unethical practices will face serious consequences.

In November 2022, Google, which lists many of the loan apps through its PlayStore product, announced that for loan apps in Nigeria, Google requires they have a ‘verifiable approval letter’ from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

Irukera emphasized that completely eliminating loan apps and the potential they offer for financial inclusion and prosperity would result in excluding some of the most vulnerable members of society from accessing commerce and fulfilling critical needs during crucial times.

“The call for outright banning is ill-advised, and in most cases supported by former victims which is understandable, but insufficient for policy-making.”

The CEO of FCCPC highlighted that the registration of loan apps has brought those willing to operate ethically within the regulatory framework. By registering, these lenders demonstrate their commitment to conducting business in a responsible and lawful manner.

Nonetheless, even among the registered players, some are creating alternative channels outside of the Framework to do business.

“As we find those ones, we permanently, without opportunity for renewal or return, remove them from the list allowed to operate.”

The painstaking work of tracking businesses on the internet and holding them accountable is a global phenomenon and challenge that regulators and law enforcers are struggling with internationally.

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Eritrea’s President, Isaias Afwerki, has called for a new global financial architecture, that is not controlled by the Dollar, Euro or other currencies.

“We need a new financial architecture, globally, one that is not controlled by the Euro, the Dollar or other currencies,” said President Afwerki.

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"We need a new financial architecture, globally, one that is not controlled by the Euro , the Dollar or other currencies."

– Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea pic.twitter.com/5SB2b4Eas3

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 3, 2023

According to Afwerki, the Dollar and the Euro are some of the tools used by western countries to control and persecute other peoples.

“They are printing money. They are not manufacturing anything at all; it is all about printing money. And this is one of their weapons. The global monetary system controlled by the Dollar and the Euro is being used. They are introducing sanctions and freezing accounts ­– these are their tools. This is not going to continue indefinitely.”

– Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki

Afwerki spoke in Russia following a meeting with President Vladmir Putin where he asked Russia to take the lead in undoing the global western hegemony, and then other countries such as Eritrea can contribute.

He added that his country has faced a lot of sanctions from the west as punishment for refusing to bow to conditions.

“We are a very small threat; we are not even a threat to them. But they have to contain us: sanctions, sanctions, sanctions, conflict here, conflict there,” he said posing the question:

It is not because Russia will have to do everything; we can make our contribution. It is a matter of ideas: how do we face this hegemonistic strategy in a way that we are able implement bilateral programmes, technology, industrialisation, agriculture, energy, water management, services, tourism, life in general – how do we do that?

This is not the first time that an African leader is calling for the end of dollarization of the global economy in 2023.

Kenyan President, William Ruto, has made repeated calls for a new financial architecture, most recently, saying that the new financial architecture must be of equals that should neither be controlled by the World Bank nor the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In May 2023, the Kenyan President urged African leaders to ditch the US dollar by signing up to the Pan-African Payments System (PAPSS) in order to faciliate trade within the continent.

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