ALTON Confirms Full Restoration of Airtime Lending for 40 Million Nigerians Imminent
By Aboki Forex —
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) says airtime lending services for about 40 million Nigerians will soon be fully restored. Airtel and Globacom have already restarted their airtime credit services, and ALTON is confident the remaining operators will follow.
Regulatory clarity paves the way
ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo said the regulatory environment is now clear enough for operators to resume services. He commended Airtel for taking the lead. “The courts have spoken, the FCCPC has acted responsibly, and two of the four major operators have already restored services,” Adebayo said. “There is no ambiguity left, and we expect every operator to act with the urgency their subscribers deserve.”
The development follows the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) decision to suspend enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 (DEON Regulations). The suspension came after a Federal High Court in Lagos issued an ex-parte order restraining the commission from enforcing the framework.
In a statement, FCCPC Director of Corporate Affairs Ondaje Ijagwu said: “As a law-abiding institution, the Commission, in deference and in obedience to the rule of law, hereby suspends the implementation and the enforcement of the DEON Regulations 2025.” The commission, however, plans to challenge both the court order and the suit itself.
Disruption hit millions of low-income users
The regulatory dispute began when the FCCPC classified airtime credit services as consumer lending products. This led to the suspension of airtime lending services by MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and T2mobile in April. Industry estimates value Nigeria’s airtime credit market at between N300 billion and N400 billion annually.
Adebayo stressed that airtime lending is not just a financial product. “It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” he said. “Removing that infrastructure, even temporarily, had consequences that went far beyond the telecom sector.”
MTN Nigeria still needs legal clarity
Attention now turns to MTN Nigeria, which has over 95 million subscribers. The company’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, Tobechukwu Okigbo, said MTN needs additional legal clarity before restoring the service. “We would require either a court ruling that sets aside the regulations empowering the FCCPC to license, which has not happened, or a clear directive instructing us to reinstate the service,” Okigbo explained.
ALTON maintains that recent court decisions and the FCCPC’s suspension have significantly reduced uncertainty. Adebayo called for stronger collaboration between the FCCPC and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to avoid similar disputes in the future. “Nigeria’s regulatory agencies need formal coordination protocols for services at the intersection of telecommunications and financial products,” he said.
For millions of Nigerians who rely on airtime advances to stay connected, the industry expects a full return of services across all networks soon.