The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria has applauded the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for suspending the enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-traditional Consumer Lending regulations against telecommunications operators, describing the move as a major boost for regulatory certainty and investor confidence in the sector.
The development comes as airtime and data credit services gradually return across Nigeria’s telecommunications networks after weeks of disruption that affected millions of subscribers.
This is as Airtel Nigeria fully restored airtime credit services, while Globacom has also resumed operations, offering relief to an estimated 40 million active users who depend on airtime and data advances for daily communication and business activities.
Speaking on the development through a statement, ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said the FCCPC’s decision demonstrated regulatory maturity and acknowledged the Nigerian Communications Commission’s role as the primary regulator of the telecommunications industry.
Adebayo said, “We commend the FCCPC for taking this decision in the interests of Nigerian consumers and the telecommunications industry.
“Suspending the DEON regulations as they apply to telecom services recognises that the established regulatory architecture, with the NCC as the sector’s primary regulator, is the appropriate framework for governing these products. That recognition matters enormously for industry stability and investor confidence.”
The ALTON chairman noted that the recent disruption highlighted the importance of airtime credit services to millions of Nigerians, particularly those in lower-income communities who rely on the facility to stay connected.
He said, “What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it.
“It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy. Removing that infrastructure, even temporarily, had consequences that went far beyond the telecom sector.”
The controversy began in April when MTN, Airtel, Glo and T2mobile suspended airtime credit offerings following an FCCPC directive requiring compliance with the DEON framework. The commission had classified airtime credit as a form of consumer lending, bringing it under regulations originally designed to address abuses by digital lending platforms.
The move sparked a regulatory dispute with the NCC, which oversees telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
However, MTN Nigeria, which has more than 95 million subscribers and remains the country’s largest telecommunications operator, had yet to restore airtime credit services as of the time of filing this report.
Adebayo expressed optimism that all operators would soon restore the service.
He stated, “The regulatory environment is now clear, and we are confident that full restoration is imminent.
“The courts have spoken, the FCCPC has acted responsibly, and two of the four major operators have already restored services. There is no ambiguity left, and we expect every operator to act with the urgency their subscribers deserve.”
He also urged stronger collaboration between regulatory agencies to prevent similar disputes in the future.
Adebayo added, “The lesson is that Nigeria’s regulatory agencies need formal coordination protocols for services at the intersection of telecommunications and financial products.
“The FCCPC’s consumer protection mandate and the NCC’s telecom regulatory mandate can coexist without either displacing the other. We are ready to participate in that conversation and urge both agencies to begin it without delay.”
