The DEON consumer lending regulation remains enforceable, says FCCPC boss

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has insisted that the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional ((DEON) Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 remain valid and enforceable, despite claims by a House of Representatives ad-hoc committee that the rules have been placed in abeyance.

In a formal petition dated January 5, 2026 and addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, described the purported suspension of the regulations by the Special Ad-Hoc Committee on Overlapping Jurisdictions, Procedural Gaps and Investor Concerns as unlawful and without legal effect.

The petition followed a letter issued on 18 December 2025 by the chairman of the committee, which was circulated to regulators and industry stakeholders, advising them to disregard the DEON Regulations pending further engagement with the House. According to the FCCPC, the letter raises serious constitutional and legal concerns, particularly with respect to the separation of powers and the integrity of subsidiary legislation.

Bello stressed that while the Commission recognises the constitutional oversight powers of the National Assembly, such powers do not extend to suspending regulations lawfully made under an Act of Parliament. He noted that the DEON Regulations were issued pursuant to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), 2018, and were gazetted on 21 July 2025, thereby giving them full statutory force.

“A regulation validly made pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly remains in force unless and until it is set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, amended, or repealed in accordance with law,” the FCCPC stated, adding that neither the Commission nor a legislative committee has authority to suspend existing subsidiary legislation.

The Commission also accused the ad-hoc committee chairman of bias and denial of fair hearing during an investigative session held on 15 December 2025. According to the petition, FCCPC officials were prevented from presenting the Commission’s memorandum or making submissions on the grounds that the Chief Executive Officer was not present, even though other agencies were allowed to present through representatives. Requests for stakeholder submissions were allegedly refused, while remarks were made suggesting that the regulations had already been prejudged.

The FCCPC warned that the committee’s communication had created regulatory uncertainty in the digital lending sector by sending conflicting signals to operators and investors. It further argued that the purported suspension left a regulatory vacuum in a sector previously associated with abusive debt recovery practices, data misuse, harassment of borrowers, and opaque pricing.

The DEON Regulations were developed following years of complaints and investigations into digital lending practices, coordinated through an inter-agency task force that included the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Nigerian Data Protection Commission, and law enforcement agencies. The rules are intended to set minimum standards for transparency, fairness, and consumer protection in digital and non-traditional lending.

In its conclusion, the FCCPC urged the Speaker of the House to intervene by clarifying the limits of committee correspondence, halting further circulation of communications that misstate the legal status of the regulations, and reaffirming that the DEON Regulations remain in force.

“The purported suspension has no basis in law, and the DEON Regulations remain valid and enforceable,” the Commission said, warning that any contrary position risks undermining regulatory certainty, investor confidence, and consumer welfare.

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