Whenever the name Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) or Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) comes up or in the news, it’s always because of one reason which is demolition of buildings/properties. Whenever you see those names trending just know that they have demolished a property in the Federal Capital Territory or are threatening to demolish a property around the Abuja municipal area council. 

The FCDA recently demolished some properties valued at billions of Naira some days back in the federal capital territory and acts like this are of common occurrence. It is more like they are always happy to demolish or pull down buildings.

Truth be told that the FCDA or the FCTA does not just demolish a building out of personal vendetta or out of sheer greed as many have accused them; for a building or buildings to be pulled down by this agency of government, that building most have been wrong situated; just like in the Joseph Kpokpogiri’s saga that trended sometime this year, the building was situated in an area that have been marked for building of express high while some other buildings that have been demolished by the FCTA/FCDA must have been situated in areas that have been reserved by government to be used for one activities or the other that are of national interest.

Also, before a building will be demolished, the authorities must have issued a series of notices and warnings for the owners of the building or its dwellers to vacate such a building.

But the FCDA and the FCTA have become power- drunk that they act as the jury and the executioner most times; most of the property they demolished are done without valid court order which ought not to be so.

FCDA does not have powers to demolish any building without the order of the court, and that the law only empowers the authority to give notice to the owners or dwellers of the building after which the authority is expected to approach the Court for valid demolition order before taking further steps to demolish any building.

This is to say that the due process of the law and how it ought to be done in a civilized society like Nigeria is for FCTA or FCDA to give notice to the owners of the buildings that are not properly situated while they approach the court of  competent jurisdiction to grant them power to demolish a building.

Therefore, every building or property that FCTA/ FCDA have ever demolished without first obtaining proper court order to that effect is illegal and the owners of those property are entitled to enforce their rights against the government agency despite the fact that their buildings was wrongly situated but any agency of government that want to enforce the law must enforce the law by following due process.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has in recent times been more deliberate in seeing to fruition the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, in this case through the promotion of Digital Financial Services or DFS as a priority.

To this end, the CBN passed the Guidelines on Digital Financial Services (DFS) Awareness on the 5th of July,2022. 

These guidelines were developed to address gaps in consumer knowledge and practices through DFS which is seen as a potential means of expanding access to financial services for the Nigerian population and boosting innovation in the financial services industry.

This article will thus be looking at the DFS awareness principle provisions of these guidelines, their applicability scope and their objectives. 

What is the applicability scope of the DFS Guidelines?

The DFS Guidelines apply to all institutions providing DFS including :- 

1. Deposit money banks.

2. Merchant banks.

3. Other Financial Institutions (OFIs).

4. Payment Service Banks (PSBs).

5. Other payment service institutions licensed by the CBN.

What are the objectives of the DFS Guidelines?

The objectives of the DFS Guidelines are :-

1. To set Digital Financial literacy standards for Digital Financial Service Providers (DFSPs).

2. To align product development, promotion and Consumer awareness to DFS providers.

3. To enhance transparency and proper disclosures in the rendering of Digital Financial Services.

4. To ensure evidence-driven approaches to DFS.

5. To drive a targeted DFS approach to the financial service-underserved segments of the population.

What are the notable DFS awareness principles espoused in the DFS Guidelines?

The most notable DFS awareness principles espoused under the CBN DFS Guidelines are :-

DFS Awareness & Education Promotion

DFSPs are to :-

– Conduct outreach initiatives to underserved populations regarding DFS options available to them.

– Provide information on products in simple English and local languages.

Disclosure, Transparency & User Privacy upon Service Adoption

DFSPs shall :-

– Disclose all items, conditions, fees & other associated charges on product offerings prior to enrolment.

– Ensure data privacy and protection into internal policies.

Product Visibility & Market Testing

DFSPs shall :-

– Ensure that products deployed are suitable for the target customers.

– Test product usability with end-users and modify as is necessary to reduce transaction errors.

Fraud Prevention

DFSPs shall :-

– Provide fraud prevention messages for consumer awareness and product usage.

Awareness & Access To Redress & Complaints Handling

DFSPs shall :-

– Disclose information on consumer complaints channels, resolutions and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in product enrolment materials.

Monitoring & Evaluation

DFSPs shall :-

– Put in place strategies to assess their policies on raising consumer awareness and product use.

– Develop indicators and performance measuring to assess changes in awareness and usage.