Airtime lending: FCCPC denies Optasia monopoly reports amid court injunction

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has denied any involvement in reports that it briefed the presidency on plans to dismantle South African firm Optasia’s dominance of Nigeria’s airtime credit lending market, casting doubt on a story that ran across multiple major Nigerian outlets at the end of the week.

In a statement signed by the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the FCCPC said it was “not aware of, and was not involved in, the claims attributed to it in the report absolutely.”

The denial directly contradicts reporting by Daily Post, Vanguard, Premium Times and others, which cited the FCCPC as the source of a high-level briefing to President Bola Tinubu that reportedly led to a presidential directive to open the airtime lending market to Nigerian fintechs.

Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON)

The reports had described the briefing as a turning point in a regulatory dispute that has been building since mid-2025, when the FCCPC introduced the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, known as the DEON Regulations.

Those rules extended credit lending oversight to include telecoms operators and their technology partners, effectively requiring Optasia and the telcos it works with to register and obtain fresh approvals to continue airtime advance operations.

Read also: Court order ensures access to essential airtime and data services for millions of Nigerians

Optasia, formerly known as Channel VAS, sits behind Nigeria’s major mobile operators as the credit engine powering airtime and data loans. It is not a telecom company. It provides the AI-driven lending infrastructure that MTN, Airtel and Glo plug into and has done so for roughly 12 years.

The FCCPC had argued that this arrangement had facilitated significant capital flight, with the company maintaining little operational footprint in Nigeria, employing virtually no Nigerian staff, and not sharing consumer credit data with local credit bureaus or financial institutions.

The dispute came to a head in April 2026 when telcos suspended airtime lending services following FCCPC enforcement actions tied to the DEON Regulations, disrupting access to emergency credit relied upon by millions of subscribers.

Optasia moved quickly. Through its Nigerian subsidiary, Nairtime Nigeria Ltd, the company obtained an interim injunction from the Federal High Court in Lagos in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) restraining the FCCPC from enforcing the DEON Regulations.

That injunction remains in force. The FCCPC’s statement makes this explicit.

As a law-abiding public institution, FCCPC remains bound by the court order to suspend enforcement of the regulation pending the determination of the substantive case by the court, which has been fixed for July 20, 2026, for further hearing, the statement reads.

The commission added that its position on digital and non-traditional lending “is limited to its regulatory responsibilities under the DEON Regulations,” and that it “remains committed to pursuing all lawful processes in respect of that matter while complying fully with the orders of the Court.”

FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman, Tunji Bello

The denial raises questions the weekend’s reporting left unanswered. If the FCCPC did not brief the presidency, who did? Multiple outlets cited the commission specifically as the source of the briefing that persuaded Tinubu to back market liberalisation.

Premium Times wrote:

“The decision follows a detailed briefing by the FCCPC, which reportedly warned the Presidency that Optasia’s long-standing dominance of the market had encouraged massive capital flight, with profits running into trillions of naira being transferred out of Nigeria every year while generating limited economic value locally.“

“Sources familiar with the matter said that the Presidency was persuaded by the Commission’s position that opening the sector to competition would strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy, create jobs, promote local innovation and align with the administration’s Nigeria First economic agenda.

The reports also named nine Nigerian fintechs as having been submitted for approval to enter the airtime lending space. The FCCPC's statement does not refer to this list, and no agency has publicly claimed responsibility for compiling or submitting it.

What is not in dispute is the underlying regulatory conflict. The DEON Regulations, the WASPAN lawsuit and the court injunction are all confirmed facts.

The next meaningful moment in this dispute is July 20, when the Federal High Court resumes hearing on the substantive case. Until then, enforcement remains suspended and Optasia’s position in the market, whatever its legal and political vulnerabilities, remains operationally intact.