By Gabriel Ameh
📍Abuja — Nigeria’s consumer protection regulator has recovered over N20 billion for consumers as complaints against telecommunications companies, fintech platforms, and financial service providers continue to rise.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Tunji Bello, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
Bello said telecom operators, digital lenders and financial service providers collectively account for a large share of the about 25,000 consumer complaints received annually by the commission.
He noted that although energy companies remain the leading source of complaints, issues involving telecom services and fintech platforms have surged due to Nigeria’s rapid digitalisation and increasing reliance on online financial transactions.
According to him, the commission has recovered more than N20 billion for consumers as of March 2026, while resolving over 9,000 complaints.
Between March and August 2025 alone, the FCCPC facilitated refunds exceeding N10 billion.
Bello explained that complaints in the fintech space often revolve around unfair loan terms and excessive interest rates charged by digital lenders.
“Most complaints come from the energy and fintech sectors. In energy, consumers complain about electricity supply and billing issues.
In fintech, many borrowers discover that the interest rates demanded when repayment is due are outrageous. We have interrogated many of these cases and resolved several of them,” he said.
The FCCPC chief also revealed that the commission played a role in moderating telecom tariff increases last year through its collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission.
According to Bello, telecom companies initially proposed a 100 percent increase in service charges, but regulatory negotiations led to a reduction.
“The telecom companies were going to increase their rates by 100 percent. Through our engagement with them, we persuaded them that such an increase would be too harsh given the inflation rate at the time. We were able to bring the proposal down to 50 percent,” he explained.
He added that the commission is expanding its consumer protection enforcement across multiple sectors, as Nigeria’s digital economy continues to grow and more consumers rely on technology-driven financial and communication services.
