The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has clarified that it didn’t banned MTN, Glo, Airtel including Vitel Wireless from offering airtime borrowing and data advance services in Nigeria.
The Commission in a statement on Friday, clarified that the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations it introduced in July 2025, was aimed at curbing “the excesses of abusive service providers whose practices had generated persistent consumer harm and undermined confidence in the market.”
The Commission dismissed what it called a wave of misinformation, stating unequivocally that “those claims that it ban Xtratime and borrow me data are incorrect.”
“The Commission has not prohibited airtime borrowing or data advance services, and no directive was issued preventing consumers from accessing lawful telecom value-added services, ” said FCCPC.
The clarification comes amid growing public concern over alleged service disruptions and rising complaints in the telecom sector.
The FCCPC explained that its intervention in the space followed numerous consumer complaints involving opaque charges, unexplained deductions, aggressive recovery practices, poor disclosure standards, and inadequate accountability within segments of the digital lending and advance-services market.
