Airtime Judgment: “Define Roles Before Any Action That Could Disrupt Access Again” – ALTON Tells FCCPC, NCC

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, has urged the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to clearly define their respective roles before taking any regulatory action that could disrupt access to airtime and data credit services.

Adebayo’s call followed Monday’s judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which affirmed the FCCPC’s authority to regulate airtime and data credit services but ruled that its powers operate alongside those of the NCC, rather than replacing them.

Delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa held that the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 fall within the FCCPC’s statutory and constitutional powers.

The court also clarified that the relationship between the FCCPC and sector regulators is complementary, declaring that “concurrency means coexistence, not displacement.”

The court further affirmed the FCCPC’s precedence in competition and consumer protection matters under Sections 104 and 105 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, while preserving the NCC’s technical, licensing and prudential responsibilities under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

Reacting to the judgment, Adebayo described the decision as an important clarification for the telecommunications industry.

“The court has done something important. It has confirmed the FCCPC’s authority and, in the same breath, affirmed that the NCC’s role is preserved. Concurrency means coexistence. The industry now expects both regulators to establish the coordination framework that the court’s reasoning requires,” he said.

He called on both regulators to engage operators through formal consultations before any enforcement action is initiated, recalling that airtime credit services were suspended for three months earlier this year following an enforcement directive before they were eventually restored.

“Forty million Nigerians depend on these services. The court has made clear that both regulators have a role. The industry is asking them to define how that works before any action that could disrupt access again,” Adebayo added.

He also noted that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council’s directive of April 6, 2026, requiring all federal agencies to conduct Regulatory Impact Assessments before introducing significant regulatory changes, remains applicable.

The judgment is regarded as the first judicial pronouncement defining how oversight of airtime and data credit services should be shared between the FCCPC and the NCC in a market estimated at between N300 billion and N400 billion annually, with about 40 million Nigerians relying on the services daily. (Guardian)