News Highlights
- Telecoms, fintech firms, and banks account for a large share of Nigeria’s roughly 25,000 annual consumer complaints, driven by data service issues, digital transactions, and predatory loan terms.
- The FCCPC has recovered over N20bn for consumers as of March 2026 and successfully pushed telecom operators to cut a planned 100% tariff hike to 50% amid inflation pressures.
Telecommunications and fintech services have emerged as major pressure points for Nigerian consumers, with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) reporting thousands of grievances tied to data services, digital transactions, loan apps, and banking platforms.
The Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Tunji Bello, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, noting that telecom operators, digital lenders, and financial service providers collectively account for a significant share of the roughly 25,000 complaints the commission receives annually.
Energy companies still lead overall complaints, but Bello stressed that telecoms, fintech platforms, and banks form a substantial cluster due to Nigeria’s rapid digitalisation and the surge in online transactions.
According to him, the commission has recovered more than N20bn for consumers as of March 2026, resolving over 9,000 complaints and refunding more than N10bn between March and August 2025 alone.
“Let me tell you where most complaints come from. Mostly on energy, fintech. For energy, people complain about the electricity supply, and so on. That’s where we get most complaints. And that led to recent action in Lagos against a disco. Also fintech. You know, people do a lot of transactions online, and most of them are either given unfair terms.
“Somebody has borrowed money, and then you discover that when they ask to pay back, the interest rate is outrageous. Most of them we have interrogated, and we’ve been able to resolve as many as possible,” Bello stated.
The FCCPC chief also revealed that the commission intervened in telecom pricing last year in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission, preventing what could have been a steep cost escalation for subscribers amid inflationary pressures.
“Last year, when they were going to increase the rates telecoms were charging, through our MoU with them, they consulted us. The telecom companies were going to increase by 100 per cent. We persuaded through that negotiation that no, you cannot, because of the inflation rate at that time. We were able to manage them to come down to 50 per cent,” Bello said.
Beyond telecoms and fintech, the commission is widening its consumer protection sweep across key sectors.