The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a stern warning to nine banks, instructing telecommunications companies (telcos) to disconnect their Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes unless outstanding debts are cleared.
In a statement released on Friday, signed by Reuben Muoka, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, the commission announced that the disconnection will take effect on January 27 if the banks fail to settle their unpaid USSD charges.
The affected banks include Fidelity Bank (770), First City Monument Bank (329), Jaiz Bank (773), Polaris Bank (833), Sterling Bank (832), United Bank for Africa (919), Unity Bank (7799), Wema Bank (945), and Zenith Bank (966).
This move comes as part of the NCC’s ongoing efforts to ensure that all parties meet their financial obligations in the telecom sector.
The statement reads: “Nigerian Communications Commission hereby notifies members of the public that it is grunting approval to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to disconnect Unstructuted Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Codes assigned by the Commission to financial institutions which are indebted to the MNOs if such institutions do not settle the outstanding invoices by Monday, January 27, 2025.
“The Commission will thereafter recover such Codes and may reassign them to other applicants in accordance with the applicable instruments,
“In fulfilment of its consumer protection mandate, the Commission wishes to inform consumers that they may be unable to access the USSD platform of the affected financial institutions from January 27, 2025
“By the information made available to the Commission at close of business on Tuesday, 14th January 2025, of a total of 18 financial institutions, the 9 institutions listed below have failed to comply significantly with the directives in the Second Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Commission dated December 20, 2024 for the settlement of outstanding invoices due to MNOS, some since 2020.
“The financial institutions’ failure to comply with the CBN-NCC Joint Circular also means that they are unable to meet the Good Standing requirements for the renewal of the USSD Codes assigned to them by the Commission.
“The financial institutions have been duly notified of the need for immediate compliance in accordance with the Commission’s Guidelines on Short Code Operation in Nigeria, 2023.”
The ongoing dispute over unpaid USSD debts between telecommunications companies (telcos) and banks has reached a critical point, with the accumulated debt now surpassing N250 billion, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). This escalating debt has raised alarm bells as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) moves closer to disconnecting USSD services for nine major banks.
The issue dates back to March 12, 2021, when telcos threatened to suspend USSD services due to a mounting N42 billion debt owed by banks, a figure that was already up from N32 billion in 2019. However, the then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, intervened to halt the planned suspension.
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By November 2022, the debt had ballooned to N80 billion, and by November 16, 2023, it had surged to N200 billion—an alarming increase from N120 billion just months earlier. The situation worsened, and by October 2024, ALTON’s Executive Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga, confirmed that the debt had climbed to a staggering N250 billion.
Despite efforts from the NCC, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other stakeholders to mediate and find a lasting resolution, little progress has been made. In December 2024, both the CBN and NCC issued an ultimatum, instructing mobile network operators (MNOs) and deposit money banks (DMBs) to settle 85 percent of the outstanding debt by December 31, 2024.
As the debt crisis deepens, the threat of USSD disconnections continues to loom large, potentially disrupting banking services for millions of Nigerians if a resolution is not reached soon.
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