FCCPC airtime credit ban exposed Tinubu's weak institutions

Tunji Bello and the FCCPC went ahead to approve more companies under the DEON regulations even after Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an interim injunction restraining them on April 15, 2026. That is direct contempt of court, plain and simple. They later withdrew the contempt proceedings but the damage was already done.

Gbenga Adebayo of ALTON and Osa Umweni of WASPAN both called out the Commission for ignoring the established regulatory architecture. The NCC is the primary regulator for telecoms, not the FCCPC. Yet millions of Nigerians lost access to airtime and data credit because of this power play. The Commission hid behind consumer protection claims but the real victim was the ordinary person who depends on that service to survive.

Tinubu said on June 12 that democracy is felt in the quality of people's daily lives. So where is the quality when an agency disobeys a court order and disrupts connectivity for millions? The substantive judgment comes on July 20. Who is really protecting the Nigerian consumer here?