The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has dismissed as false the viral claims that it has banned airtime borrowing and data advance services in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Friday via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the Commission clarified that no directive had been issued prohibiting consumers from accessing lawful telecom value-added services. It described the reports as misleading.
The confusion, the FCCPC explained, stemmed from regulatory measures introduced in July 2025 under the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations. These rules were designed to address a surge in consumer complaints over opaque charges, unexplained deductions, aggressive debt recovery, poor disclosure, and weak accountability among digital lenders and advance-service providers.
“The Commission has not prohibited airtime borrowing or data advance services,” the statement read in part.
Rather than imposing a ban, the regulations require operators to register properly, disclose fees and terms transparently, adopt responsible lending practices, and provide accessible complaint channels. The FCCPC noted that some telecom operators had also engaged in exclusionary third-party arrangements in violation of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, thereby stifling competition.
The new framework aims to open the market to both local and international participants, promoting fairness and consumer confidence. Operators were initially granted a 90-day compliance period, later extended to 5 January 2026.
Despite this extension, some operators failed to regularise their services, continuing models that had long generated consumer grievances. The FCCPC stressed that any temporary suspension of airtime borrowing or data advance services is a business or compliance decision by the operators themselves—not a regulatory ban.
Attributing such disruptions to the Commission’s actions is misleading, the agency said, particularly given the ample time afforded for compliance. It also warned against deliberate disinformation by vested interests seeking to undermine market reforms.
The FCCPC urged Nigerians to disregard false narratives and rely on accurate information regarding telecom services.
—
