The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has denied claims that it banned or shut down airtime borrowing and data advance services in Nigeria, describing the reports as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on April 17, 2026, the Commission said no directive had been issued to prohibit airtime borrowing or data advance services, and that consumers remain free to access lawful telecom value-added services.
FCCPC said the confusion followed newspaper reports and a viral anonymous social media post which wrongly suggested that the Commission had cancelled the services under its consumer lending rules.
The Commission explained that its DEON Consumer Lending Regulations, introduced in July 2025, were designed to address consumer complaints linked to opaque charges, unexplained deductions, aggressive recovery practices, weak disclosure standards, and poor accountability in parts of the digital lending and advance-services market.
According to the Commission, the regulations were meant to promote fairer market conduct through proper registration, responsible lending behaviour, clearer disclosure of fees and terms, stronger consumer complaint channels, data protection safeguards, and improved oversight of third-party partners.
FCCPC also said its review of the telecom sector showed that some operators were involved in exclusionary third-party technical arrangements that ran contrary to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018. It said the regulations were intended to open the market to local participants alongside foreign partners in line with free market principles.
The Commission said operators were first given a 90-day compliance window from July 2025 to regularise their products, structures and operations. It added that the deadline was later extended to January 5, 2026, but some operators still failed to complete the required compliance steps.
FCCPC said any service suspension, restriction or operational change introduced by providers should be seen as a business or compliance decision by those operators, and not as a ban imposed by the Commission.
It added that it was wrong to blame avoidable service disruption on regulation where operators had sufficient notice and enough time to comply with the law.
The Commission accused some vested interests and foreign collaborators of spreading disinformation in opposition to efforts to build safe markets and fair competition.
FCCPC urged consumers and the public to ignore what it described as false narratives on the matter, while reaffirming its commitment to consumer protection, fair competition, responsible innovation and transparent digital financial practices.
The statement was signed by Ondaje Ijagwu, Director of Corporate Affairs.
