By Innocent Anaba
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has explained why it suspended the implementation and enforcement of its controversial Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (DEON Regulations), a move that industry stakeholders say has paved the way for the restoration of airtime and data credit services across Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
In a statement by Ondaje Ijagwu, Director of Corporate Affairs, the Commission said it took the decision in obedience to a Federal High Court order restraining the enforcement of the regulations.
“The Commission has since been served with an ex-parte order of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, restraining/suspending the implementation of the regulations,” the FCCPC stated, adding “As a law-abiding institution, the Commission, in deference and in obedience to the rule of law, hereby suspends the implementation and the enforcement of the DEON Regulations 2025.”
The regulations had been challenged in court by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria, WASPAN, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026. The FCCPC, however, indicated that it would continue to contest both the court order and the competence of the suit.
“The Commission has also given its solicitors firm instructions to challenge the Order and the competence of the suit,” the statement added.
The suspension has been welcomed by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, which described the FCCPC’s action as a critical step towards restoring regulatory certainty and investor confidence in the country’s telecommunications industry.
“We commend the FCCPC for taking this decision in the interests of Nigerian consumers and the telecommunications industry,” said ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo.
And, further explained “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 decision comes after weeks of disruption that left an estimated 40 million active users without access to airtime and data credit services widely relied upon by low-income and prepaid subscribers.
Industry estimates put the annual airtime credit market at between N300 billion and N400 billion.
The market was effectively frozen in early April after MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and T2mobile suspended their services following an FCCPC enforcement directive requiring immediate compliance with the DEON framework.
The FCCPC had classified airtime credit as consumer lending, bringing the service under regulations initially designed to address concerns around digital loan applications.
The move triggered a jurisdictional dispute with the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, which regulates telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
The dispute subsequently moved to the courts, resulting in an interim injunction granted by the Federal High Court in Lagos on April 15 restraining the FCCPC from enforcing the regulations against WASPAN members.
A separate Federal High Court order in Abuja on April 24 also restrained MTN and Airtel from interfering with licensed value-added service providers’ access to telecom platforms.
The FCCPC’s attempt to set aside the Lagos injunction was later unsuccessful.
Following the regulatory and legal developments, Airtel became the first major operator to restore airtime credit services, while Globacom followed shortly afterwards.
Adebayo said the episode highlighted the critical role airtime credit plays in Nigeria’s economy.
“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 ALTON boss said.
He expressed confidence that the remaining operators would soon restore services, stating “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.”
Attention has now shifted to MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest mobile operator with more than 95 million subscribers, which is yet to restore its airtime advance services despite the return of the offering on rival networks.
Explaining the company’s position, Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, said the operator still requires additional legal clarity before resuming the service.
“In terms of what needs to happen for us to resume airtime advance service, there are essentially two conditions,” Okigbo said during the company’s earnings call.
And, clarified “First, we would require either a court ruling that sets aside the regulations empowering the FCCPC to license, which has not happened, or a clear directive instructing us to reinstate the service.”
Industry observers note that with Airtel and Globacom already back in the market, attention is now on MTN to restore access for millions of subscribers who remain unable to access airtime advances.
Looking ahead, ALTON called for closer coordination between the FCCPC and the NCC to avoid similar regulatory conflicts in the future.
“The lesson is that Nigeria’s regulatory agencies need formal coordination protocols for services at the intersection of telecommunications and financial products,” Adebayo said, further advocating “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.”
