The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has debunked widespread reports claiming that airtime borrowing and data advance services have been banned in Nigeria, describing the claims as false and misleading.
In a statement on Friday, the Commission said its attention was drawn to newspaper publications and viral social media posts suggesting that it had cancelled or shut down airtime borrowing and data advance services nationwide.
The FCCPC clarified that such claims are incorrect, stressing that it has not prohibited airtime borrowing or data advance services, nor issued any directive preventing consumers from accessing lawful telecom value-added services.
The Commission explained that following numerous consumer complaints about opaque charges, unexplained deductions, aggressive recovery practices, poor disclosure standards, and inadequate accountability in parts of the digital lending and advance-services market, it introduced the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations in July 2025.
According to the FCCPC, the regulations were designed to curb abusive practices by service providers that had caused repeated consumer harm and weakened confidence in the market.
It stated that the framework aims to promote fairness and transparency by requiring proper registration, responsible lending conduct, clear disclosure of fees and terms, accessible complaint channels, data protection safeguards, stronger accountability for third-party partners, and effective regulatory oversight.
The Commission added that investigations in the telecom sector revealed that some operators engaged in exclusionary third-party technical arrangements that violated provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
It noted that affected operators were initially granted a 90-day compliance window when the framework began in July 2025 to regularise their services.
The deadline was later extended to January 5, 2026, but some operators failed to complete the required compliance steps.
The FCCPC said any temporary suspension or restriction introduced by service providers should be seen as a business or compliance decision by the operators themselves, not a ban imposed by the Commission.
The agency warned that attempts to misrepresent temporary service disruptions as regulatory bans are misleading, urging Nigerians to disregard false information and rely on verified sources.
