The Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission have been urged by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria to provide a precise framework for regulating data credit and airtime services. In a statement issued on Monday, Gbenga Adebayo, the association's chairman, made the request in response to the Federal High Court's ruling in Lagos that upheld the functions of both agencies.
According to the court, the FCCPC can regulate airtime and data credit services, but it can only do so in conjunction with the NCC.
While maintaining the NCC's sole authority over telecommunications licenses and technical regulation under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, the court upheld the FCCPC's authority under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018.
The two regulators have a complementary relationship, according to Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, who rendered the decision in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026. He stated that "concurrency means coexistence, not displacement."
Adebayo praised the ruling, stating that it gave telecom providers much-needed clarity.
"The court has taken a significant action. It has affirmed both the jurisdiction of the FCCPC and the preservation of the NCC's role. Coexistence is referred to as concurrency. According to the court's logic, the industry now expects both regulators to set up the coordinating framework, he said.
Noting that airtime credit services were halted for three months earlier this year due to an enforcement directive before being reinstated, he encouraged the FCCPC and the NCC to have formal talks with industry stakeholders prior to adopting enforcement steps.
These services are essential to 40 million Nigerians. Both regulators have a role, as the court has made plain. Before taking any action that would impede access once more, the industry is requesting that they clarify how that operates, according to Adebayo.
Additionally, he emphasized that the April 6, 2026, directive from the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, which mandates that all federal agencies perform a Regulatory Impact Assessment prior to implementing major regulatory changes, is still in force.
