The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued a statement abruptly denying reports which suggests that it ordered a ban on airtime borrowing services offered by telecommunications companies in Nigeria.
The Commission clarified that at no point did it direct any telecom operator to suspend or discontinue the credit-based airtime and data lending services that millions of Nigerians rely on for everyday communication.
According to the FCCPC, the circulating reports misrepresented its regulatory activities and created unnecessary panic among consumers who depend on such services, particularly low-income Nigerians who frequently use airtime borrowing as a financial lifeline when they are unable to immediately recharge their lines.
The Commission went further to place the responsibility for any disruptions to airtime borrowing services squarely on the telecom operators themselves, stating that any suspension or alteration of these services was a unilateral decision made by the companies and not a directive from the regulatory body.
The FCCPC indicated that it had been engaging with telecom operators over concerns related to consumer protection, transparency in lending terms, and the practices surrounding debt recovery for borrowed airtime, but stressed that these engagements did not translate into an instruction to pull the services offline.
Officials noted that some operators appeared to have used regulatory conversations as cover to make operational changes that suited their own business interests, without adequate notice or justification to their customers.
The FCCPC used the statement to reaffirm its commitment to protecting Nigerian consumers from exploitative practices and opaque service conditions in the telecommunications sector.
The Commission urged telecom companies to restore any suspended airtime borrowing services immediately and to ensure that the terms and conditions attached to such services are communicated to customers in clear, simple, and accessible language.
It also warned that operators found to be acting in bad faith or deliberately misleading consumers about the reasons behind service disruptions would face regulatory consequences. Consumers were encouraged to report any grievances related to airtime borrowing services directly to the FCCPC through its official complaint channels.
