The Nigerian Communications Commission and telecommunications companies have ruled out a deadline extension after Nigerian banks’ disconnection notice from Unstructured Supplementary Service Data over unpaid debts elapsed on Monday.
The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, made this known on Monday, as the decision leaves defaulting lenders scrambling to meet the deadline by the close of business on Monday.
Recall that in a notice, on January 15th, 2025, NCC warned nine Nigerian banks to clear their debts by January 27th, 2025, or risk losing access to their USSD codes, an essential service enabling millions of Nigerians to conduct banking transactions without internet access.
In an update by telcos, the nine Nigerian banks that were in arrears dropped to seven Friday last week, meaning that only two lenders had made payments while one more bank indicated its intention to settle by close of work on Monday, leaving six banks still in arrears.