Energy, fintech, and telecommunications firms have emerged as the sectors generating the highest number of consumer complaints in Nigeria, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has revealed.
Tunji Bello, the commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, shared the information on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
Bello noted that the commission has received thousands of complaints from Nigerians in these sectors and has recovered over N20 billion for consumers as of March 2026.
He further highlighted that between March and August 2025 alone, the commission resolved more than 9,000 complaints and secured over N10 billion in refunds.
“Let me tell you where most complaints come from. Mostly on energy, fintech. For energy, people complain about the electricity supply, and so on. That’s where we get most complaints. And that led to recent action in Lagos against a disco. Also fintech. You know, people do a lot of transactions online, and most of them are either given unfair terms.
“Somebody has borrowed money, and then you discover that when they ask to pay back, the interest rate is outrageous. Most of them we have interrogated, and we’ve been able to resolve as many as possible,” Bello stated.
He added that complaints also come in large numbers from the telecommunications and banking sectors, emphasizing that the commission receives roughly 25,000 petitions annually through different channels. Bello noted that consumer recoveries had risen from N10 billion in October 2025 to over N20 billion by March 2026.
The FCCPC chief also revealed that the agency has begun monitoring petrol prices and other commodities nationwide amid tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
“We are presently monitoring the situation as it affects prices in Nigeria and various prices. Because it’s not just petrol. Petrol has supply effects on some of the things we eat or we take on a daily basis.
“So we are monitoring. I will still want to see it as a temporary measure. But you know, the federal government under the leadership of our president has recorded massive gains in the last two years, and we don’t want to see this as something that will now begin to offset that progress,” Bello added.
He said the commission is coordinating with petroleum regulators to ensure compliance with pricing rules.
“Whatever the fuel suppliers dictate, if the petrol stations are not complying, those are the things we are trying to monitor. If somebody has reduced N100 or N200 from it and you are still selling your own for N1,500 per litre, we should be able to ask you, ‘Why are you doing that? So those are the things that our monitors are outside already monitoring developments,” he stated.
Bello confirmed that the FCCPC is collaborating with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to strengthen compliance checks.
On aviation, he said airlines that raised ticket prices during the December 2025 festive travel season would be required to refund passengers who were overcharged.
He added that investigations into alleged price-fixing by about five to six airlines have concluded, and the commission is preparing to release its final report and sanctions.
“We investigated following the complaints that they fixed prices during the Christmas period. Prices of airline tickets were around N45,000 to N50,000, and suddenly became N400,000 to N500,000, from N400,000 to N670,000 during the Christmas period. So we followed up through our investigation, and we were able to conclude that it was a kind of price-fixing mechanism,” Bello said.
