Nigeria's FCCPC suspends DEON lending rules as Tinubu orders monopoly breakup

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) announced that it has suspended enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online and Non‑Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) Regulations 2025 pending a court decision. The suspension follows an ex‑parte order from the Federal High Court in Lagos filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria, with a hearing set for 20 July 2026.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the FCCPC to dismantle the 12‑year monopoly held by South African firm Optasia in Nigeria’s airtime credit and data‑advance market. Officials say the monopoly has facilitated large capital outflows and offers little local economic benefit, and the breakup is intended to open an estimated N3 trillion annual market to Nigerian fintech firms.

Despite the regulatory uncertainty, the FCCPC has approved a list of nine airtime and data‑credit operators, adding four new firms to the existing licensing framework. The commission has repeatedly refuted media reports that it has approved a broad market overhaul or that it is driving new operator approvals, emphasizing that the DEON rules remain on hold while the court case proceeds.

Industry estimates place the market’s value between N300 billion and N400 billion, though some sources cite up to N3 trillion. The dispute highlights the overlapping jurisdiction between the telecommunications regulator and the competition authority and its implications for millions of Nigerian subscribers who rely on airtime credit services.