Airtime credit regulation: Telcos demand clear framework from FCCPC and NCC after court ruling

Airtime and data credit services could face fresh uncertainty unless Nigeria’s two key regulators agree on how to oversee them, according to telecommunications operators, who warn that poor coordination could affect more than 40 million users.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria made the call on Monday through its chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, in response to a Federal High Court judgment confirming that both the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have legitimate authority over airtime and data credit services.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, ruled that the two regulators operate alongside each other rather than in competition. The FCCPC retains its powers under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, while the NCC keeps its exclusive responsibility for telecommunications licensing and technical regulation under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. In the court’s own words: “Concurrency means coexistence, not displacement.”

Adebayo welcomed the ruling but said the judgment creates an obligation that has not yet been met. “The court has confirmed the FCCPC’s authority and, in the same breath, affirmed that the NCC’s role is preserved,” he said. “The industry now expects both regulators to establish the coordination framework that the court’s reasoning requires.”

Why telcos want the FCCPC and NCC to coordinate on airtime credit rules

To understand why telcos are pushing so hard for a clear framework, it helps to know what happened earlier this year.

Airtime credit, the service that lets you borrow airtime or data from your network when your balance runs out, repaying it when you next…