Over 40 Million Nigerian Telecom Subscribers Risk Fresh Airtime Borrowing Disruption

• More than 40 million Nigerians could face another disruption to airtime borrowing services as telecom operators seek a court order to stop the FCCPC from enforcing its lending regulations pending the outcome of an appeal.

Millions of Nigerians who depend on airtime borrowing services could face another disruption as the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) warns that renewed enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations may affect the service before an ongoing court appeal is decided.

In court documents filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos, WASPAN urged the court to stop the FCCPC from fully enforcing the regulations pending the outcome of its appeal against a July 20 judgment that upheld the Commission’s powers to regulate digital lending services.

The association argued that enforcing the regulations before the appeal is heard could expose telecom operators to sanctions, create regulatory uncertainty, and disrupt airtime borrowing services used by more than 40 million Nigerians.

WASPAN Chairman, Ayo Stuffman, stated in an affidavit that the FCCPC had already announced the immediate resumption of enforcement after the court judgment, despite the pending appeal.

According to the association, the dispute centers on whether the FCCPC has the legal authority to regulate telecom-based airtime lending services or whether that responsibility belongs solely to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the Nigerian Communications Act.

WASPAN also maintained that the FCCPC’s additional regulatory requirements could interfere with the operations of licensed telecom service providers and undermine the authority of the NCC.

Industry stakeholders estimate Nigeria’s airtime borrowing market is worth between ₦300 billion and ₦400 billion annually, with millions of low-income earners, traders, artisans, and other subscribers relying on the service for emergency communication.

The legal battle follows an earlier temporary suspension of airtime borrowing services by mobile network operators before the court allowed the service to resume while the substantive case was being heard.

Despite the appeal, the FCCPC has insisted it will continue enforcing the DEON Regulations, saying the Federal High Court has affirmed the Commission’s authority to do so.