By Adesakin Adefemi
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has said it did not ban airtime borrowing or data advance services in Nigeria, countering claims that circulated in media reports and on social media.
In a statement issued Friday, the FCCPC stated that no directive was issued, preventing consumers from accessing lawful telecom value-added services. The clarification came days after MTN Nigeria suspended its “Xtratime” airtime and data credit advance service, citing compliance with new regulations.
The rules, known as the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional consumer lending regulations, 2025, were gazetted and took effect on July 21, 2025. The FCCPC said the framework was issued under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 to guide registration, transparency, and ethical loan recovery.
According to the commission, the regulations were introduced to address abuses by service providers after complaints from consumers over opaque charges, unexplained deductions, aggressive recovery practices, and poor disclosure standards. The FCCPC said those practices had generated “persistent consumer harm and undermined confidence in the market.”
The new rules mandate proper registration, responsible lending conduct, clear disclosure of fees and terms, accessible consumer complaint channels, data protection safeguards, and stronger accountability for third-party partners. The commission said the aim is to promote a fairer and more transparent digital lending system.
The FCCPC noted that some telecom operators had engaged in exclusionary arrangements that violated the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018. It said the regulations were designed to open up the market and encourage fair competition among providers of airtime and data credit services.
Operators were given a 90-day window from July 2025 to regularise their operations under the new framework. The commission later extended the compliance deadline to January 5, 2026, to allow service providers additional time to meet the requirements.
Despite the extensions, the FCCPC said some service providers failed to comply within the stipulated timelines and continued operating under existing models that had drawn consumer complaints. It stressed that any suspension or operational change was a business or compliance decision by the operators themselves.
“Any temporary suspension, restriction, or operational change introduced by service providers should therefore be understood as a business or compliance decision by those operators, not a ban imposed by the FCCPC,” the commission stated. It added that regulated entities had adequate notice and sufficient opportunity to comply.
The commission accused vested interests of spreading misinformation to undermine its regulatory efforts. It described attempts to present temporary service inconvenience as the result of lawful consumer regulation as “mischievous,” insisting Nigerians deserve accurate information, not sensational claims.
