By Felix Khanoba
No fewer than 30 bank accounts operated by illegal loan organisations have been frozen following the intervention of
theFederal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Mr Babatunde Irukera, made this known at a media engagement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Irukera also said that the Commission had engaged Google and Apple Stores to take down some loan applications from their stores, noting that there were certain processes required for that to happen.
He said that the Commission was currently engaging some major loan companies whose businesses had been affected by the Commission’s raid, adding that the move is to ensure sanity in the sector and prevent abuse of consumer rights.
“The day we conducted the raid, we have some limited information about the bank accounts that some of the loan companies operated.
“All the bank accounts that were provided were immediately blocked but these companies operate multiple bank accounts with multiple names.
“Between the time we raided and now, we have discovered additional 30 accounts and all have been frozen and we will continue to freeze as we discover them.
“I am certain that with the actions that we have taken and the nature of the engagement we are having with the loan companies, at least three of the major ones that their businesses have been severely affected by either our search or the account closure, they are modifying.
“It will take some time but I can assure you that the space is changing now,’’ he said.
On recent airfare increase by airline operators, Irukera said the Commission was not empowered by the Act establishing it to regulate prices.
He said the Act provided that price gouging, exploitative, unreasonable, manifestly unjust terms including price were wrong but determining that price was unjust, unreasonable was a bunch of circumstances.
“We are not a price regulator, we are market regulator and only in limited circumstances that FCCPA provide any power to regulate price.
“It doesn’t give that power to the commission. It provides that limited circumstances upon clear market compelling reasons in certain sectors do FCCPC make the recommendation to the President.
“It is the President that will approve for price to be imposed or regulated and it must be gazetted and for a short period of time stating how long it will be.
“And the purpose of that regulation must be to promote competition or in a market where there is no competition and you need to regulate prices for a short period of time.’’
