Senators may be planning to 'regulate' Konga, Jumia, others in Nigeria

When the Nigerian Senate used its e-voting system for the first time and streamed a plenary session on Facebook, all within a week, it seemed like the house was finally giving technology a chance.

Unfortunately, it seems like the industry is going pay a price for that. According to the official Twitter account of the Senate, a bill for an “Act to provide for Effective and Transparent Administration, Management and Control of Payment, Clearing & Settlement Processes in Nigeria (and for related matters)” has been put forward by Senator John Enoh.

Apparently, the reason behind this is the "rise" of e-commerce in Nigeria and the Senate's need to take 'advantage' of it.

It is unclear at the time of writing this article what the bill says exactly but the Senate's thoughts on the bill are clear, and not too comforting.

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In the eye of the Senate, it is a great idea since it will provide a legal framework plus if it is implemented, it will 'make the country a lot of money'.

Basically, the Senate thinks it has stumbled on to a cash cow and is looking to milk it for all its worth. Not exactly something to rejoice over.

The bill has already been cleared for the second reading stage - the Committee on Finance has also been given four weeks to turn in a report on the bill.

This could turn out to be a good thing, but the Senate has not been the most stable government institution so I wouldn't hold my breath. Pulse Tech will keep you updated.