President Bola Tinubu has ordered Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to break what he described as a 12-year monopoly attributed to South African technology firm Optasia in the country’s airtime credit lending and data advance services. The administration says the move, if executed effectively, could release an estimated N3 trillion in annual revenue potential for the broader market.
The directive follows a briefing delivered to the presidency by the FCCPC over the weekend. During the session, the regulator warned that Optasia’s long-standing dominance has contributed to substantial capital flight. The FCCPC’s position, as relayed by people familiar with the matter, is that large profits—measured in trillions of naira—are reportedly being moved out of Nigeria each year, while the value generated locally remains limited.
Officials close to the process said the presidency was persuaded that opening the sector to competition would strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy, support job creation, encourage homegrown innovation, and better fit the administration’s “Nigeria First” economic agenda.
Investigations showed that for more than a decade, Optasia—previously known as Channel VAS—has held a near-exclusive position in airtime credit and data advance arrangements, with a strong presence tied to MTN network services and several of the carrier’s African affiliates. The FCCPC has also raised concerns that even with its market control, the company’s operating footprint inside Nigeria appears minimal.
People familiar with the matter said the firm has no meaningful administrative infrastructure in Nigeria, employs almost no Nigerian staff, and does not appear to share consumer credit information with local credit bureaus or Nigerian financial institutions. On that basis, the FCCPC has argued that competition would improve local participation, bolster the fintech environment, widen employment opportunities, and help curb the ongoing outflow of capital.
Additional expert sources who spoke on condition of anonymity alleged that Optasia has, over the years, relied on a mix of legal pressure, lobbying, and other tactics to defend its dominant role in the market. Regulators, they said, view these efforts as having reduced competitive pressure and constrained opportunities for indigenous technology companies seeking to scale.
Before Tinubu’s directive, there were signs that Optasia tried to influence the presidency to protect its control over the market beyond courtrooms. In addition to securing an interim court order restraining the FCCPC’s actions, the firm was said to have sought high-level diplomatic engagement, including attempts to rally support from a foreign head of state to persuade Tinubu to keep the existing arrangement.
However, the presidency reportedly dismissed the pressure after reviewing the FCCPC’s economic case for deregulation and competition. The commission believes the reform could reshape a sector long dominated by a single foreign operator into a more competitive system—one that can produce wider benefits for Nigerian firms, consumers, and the overall economy.
