The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has rejected as false a report claiming it approved 48 new digital loan applications, pushing the number of licensed digital lenders in Nigeria to 505.
In a statement on its official X handle Sunday, the commission described the publication — titled “FCCPC Approves 48 More Loan Apps, Raises Licensed Digital Lenders in Nigeria to 505” — as false, misleading and not reflective of its actions.
The FCCPC said it has not issued any new approvals or licences for digital lenders, noting that it is fully complying with an ex parte order of the Federal High Court restraining the implementation of the Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025, pending further proceedings.
“The FCCPC is a law-abiding institution and is fully complying with the ex parte Order of the Federal High Court restraining the implementation of the Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 pending further proceedings,” the commission said.
“Consequently, the Commission has not granted any new approvals or licences pursuant to those Regulations. Any publication suggesting that the Commission recently approved additional digital lenders under the Regulations is entirely false.”
The commission urged the public, industry stakeholders and media organisations to disregard the report and rely only on information from its official communication channels.
This is not the first time the FCCPC has been forced to deny reports of loan app approvals. Its last disclaimer came in early June, following claims that President Bola Tinubu endorsed FCCPC proposals to restructure the airtime credit sector and approved nine Nigerian fintech firms to participate in the market. The companies named included Technotrends Platforms Nigeria Limited, Total Tim Nigeria Limited, Fonyou Technologies Nigeria Limited, Rane Interactive Medien CLS Limited, MRS Innovation Nigeria Limited, Mode NG Applications Nigeria Limited, ERL Telecoms Service Limited, Cloud Interactive Associate Limited and Coverage Broadband Limited.
The FCCPC maintained it had no involvement in those reported approvals, reiterating that the regulatory framework under which the firms were allegedly approved remained suspended.
The commission said implementation and enforcement of the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 has been halted following an interim injunction granted by the Federal High Court in Lagos on April 15, 2026, in a suit filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria.
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