Telecommunications operators in Nigeria will now be required to compensate subscribers with airtime credits for service disruptions under a new consumer protection framework introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The regulator said compensation would be issued automatically to affected users in areas experiencing network failures, marking a shift toward stricter enforcement of quality-of-service obligations across the industry.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Head of Public Affairs at the Commission, Nnenna Ukoha, said affected users will receive airtime credits calculated based on their average spending patterns and their presence within local government areas where service failures occur.

“Subscribers should not be made to bear the full burden of service disruptions where operators fail to meet prescribed standards of service delivery,” she said.

The NCC explained that the move is part of its broader consumer-focused regulatory philosophy, aimed at placing subscribers at the centre of Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem.

“Telecommunications services today underpin economic activity, social interaction, and access to digital opportunities. When service quality is poor, the consequences affect productivity, commercial activities, and even public confidence in our communications system,” the regulator stated.

The commission also directed tower companies, which own critical infrastructure such as masts, to reinvest fines levied against them into measurable infrastructure improvements to strengthen network performance.

“The commission will continue to reinforce the obligation of operators to invest consistently in network resilience, capacity expansion, and infrastructure upgrades to meet the growing demand for telecommunications services,” it said.

The regulator noted that it will continue deploying regulatory tools to promote fairness, transparency, and accountability, ensuring subscribers receive the quality of service they deserve.

“Further to this directive, the commission is also mandating tower companies to invest in infrastructure with measurable outcomes using sums that it has fined these companies, in addition to other financial fines the commission will deem appropriate,” the statement added.

Nigeria’s telecom networks experienced significant outages in 2026, tracked via the NCC’s Uptime Portal, with fibre cuts dominating disruptions. Major operators like MTN, Airtel, T2Mobile, and ISPs such as BCN faced widespread issues, affecting services across multiple states.

Nigeria recorded 238 network outages, a 101.7 per cent rise from December 2025. Fibre cuts caused 67.6 per cent (161 cases) and power outages 18.5 per cent (44), with BCN hit hardest (188 cases), followed by MTN (75). Disruptions affected Abia, Cross River, Enugu, Lagos, and other states, with repair times taking up to six days.

Fibre cuts surged 900 per cent to 40 in January, continuing into February with 18 more by mid-month, totalling 58 in early 2026. Over 90 per cent occurred in Abuja, with additional cases in Lagos, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, and Abia; operators affected included BCN, T2Mobile, Airtel, and MTN.

The United States reduced its purchase of Nigerian crude oil sharply in January 2026, with imports dropping by about 47.16 per cent month-on-month, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Figures from the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report indicate that U.S. crude imports from Nigeria fell to 1.664 million barrels in January 2026, down from 3.149 million barrels recorded in December 2025. This represents a decline of 1.485 million barrels within one month, showing a significant contraction in Nigeria’s share of the U.S. crude market.

In value terms, the drop was equally steep. The customs value of Nigerian crude imports declined from $217.36m in December to $115.99m in January, while the cost, insurance, and freight value fell from $223.10m to $118.95m over the same period. The difference between the two measures reflects additional costs such as shipping and insurance included in CIF values, which are excluded from customs valuation.

This means that in January, the CIF value of Nigerian crude was about $2.96m higher than its customs value, compared to a wider gap of about $5.74m in December. The narrowing gap suggests relatively lower freight or insurance costs, or shorter shipping distances within the period.

The contraction comes amid a broader slowdown in total U.S. crude imports, which declined from 198.29 million barrels in December to 188.21 million barrels in January, representing a drop of about 5.1 per cent. Total import value also fell, with customs value decreasing from $11.41bn to $10.56bn, while CIF value dropped from $12.04bn to $11.15bn.

Within Africa, Nigeria lost ground to some peers. While total African crude exports to the U.S. remained flat at 6.933 million barrels, Angola recorded a sharp increase, rising from 575,000 barrels in December to 2.062 million barrels in January.

Ghana also emerged as a new supplier with 738,000 barrels, having recorded no measurable exports in December. By contrast, Libya saw its exports to the U.S. decline from 2.137 million barrels to 1.086 million barrels over the period.

Nigeria’s share of total U.S. crude imports also weakened. The country accounted for roughly 0.88 per cent of total U.S. crude imports in January, down from about 1.59 per cent in December, reflecting the sharp reduction in volumes.

Further analysis of U.S. trade data shows that crude oil remains the dominant component of Nigeria’s exports to the United States. Total U.S. imports from Nigeria stood at $183m in January 2026, compared to $297m in December 2025.

With crude oil imports valued at $115.99m (customs basis) and $118.95m on a CIF basis, crude accounted for approximately 63.4 per cent to 65.0 per cent of total U.S. imports from Nigeria in January. This compares with about 73.2 per cent in December on a customs basis, indicating a relative moderation in crude dominance as overall imports declined.

The PUNCH further observed that the U.S. recorded a goods trade surplus of $419m with Nigeria in January, up from $84m in December. This was driven by a rise in U.S. exports to Nigeria, which increased from $381m to $602m, even as imports from Nigeria declined.

Across Africa, the U.S. posted a trade deficit of $503m in January, reversing a $174m surplus recorded in December. Total U.S. imports from Africa rose from $2.88bn to $3.54bn, while exports to the region edged slightly lower from $3.05bn to $3.04bn.

The PUNCH earlier reported that Nigeria accounted for about 52 per cent of Africa’s crude oil exports to the United States in 2025. According to the previous report, total U.S. crude imports from Africa stood at 89.371 million barrels in 2025, down from 103.631 million barrels in 2024, representing a decline of 14.26 million barrels or 13.8 per cent.

Out of the 89.371 million barrels imported from Africa in 2025, Nigeria supplied 46.618 million barrels, compared to 50.793 million barrels in 2024. This was a drop of 4.175 million barrels or 8.2 per cent year on year.

Despite the lower volume, Nigeria’s share of Africa’s crude exports to the U.S. rose. In 2025, Nigeria’s 46.618 million barrels accounted for 52.2 per cent of Africa’s total shipments, up from 49.0 per cent in 2024, when it exported 50.793 million barrels out of the continent’s 103.631 million barrels.

The PUNCH earlier reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recorded a profit after tax of N385bn in January 2026, even as crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.64 million barrels per day, according to the firm’s latest monthly operational report.

The January 2026 NNPC Monthly Report Summary, released on Monday, showed that the state-owned energy company generated N2.571tn in revenue during the month while remitting N726bn as statutory payments to the Federation.

This means the company recorded a sharp 47 per cent decline in its monthly revenue, which fell from N4.82tn in December 2025 to N2.57tn in January 2026. This contraction occurred despite a marginal increase in the company’s after-tax profit.

It disclosed that Nigeria produced 1.64 million barrels per day, up from 1.55 million barrels per day recorded in December 2025. This represents an increase of 0.09mbpd, or about 5.8 per cent month-on-month.

The PUNCH observed that the decline in crude exports to the U.S. occurred despite higher production. The trade outcomes come against the backdrop of renewed US protectionist rhetoric and tariff-focused trade policies associated with US President Donald Trump, which have influenced sourcing decisions, pricing structures, and trade flows globally.

Last year, Donald Trump signed an executive order raising Nigeria’s tariff rate from 14 per cent to 15 per cent, with Washington implementing its “reciprocal” tariff regime.

The order, issued in late July, took effect on August 7, 2025. Although crude oil has been exempted in several cases, the higher duty applies directly to a wide range of non-oil Nigerian exports, creating uncertainty for American importers and dampening demand ahead of and after the effective date.

With crude oil exports largely exempted from the new tariff regime, non-oil exports appear to have borne the brunt of the disruption.

A renowned economist and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, downplayed the impact of the U.S. tariffs on Nigeria.

“Our trade with the US is not that strategic. When anything goes wrong, it is not as if it can have any fundamental effect on our economy. Our trade exposure to them is very limited,” Yusuf explained.

He noted that Nigerian exports to the US are dominated by crude oil and a handful of other commodities, such as fertilisers, making the country’s trade profile narrow and underdeveloped in non-oil areas. Yusuf added that Nigeria’s tariff exposure is relatively moderate compared with other countries.

However, he identified another challenge beyond tariffs: US visa policy. “The bigger challenge for Nigeria’s trade relationship with the US is Washington’s visa policy. Barriers to travel limit business interactions and investment inflows. That is more critical than tariffs in the long run,” he said.

Since its inception, the Trump administration has steadily rolled out a series of visa restrictions and travel bans targeting Nigeria and several other countries.

…Says Reforms Are Achieving Desired Results

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has solicited the collaboration of all stakeholders in the nation’s financial system in its current regulatory drives aimed at fully exploring the potential of the investment space for sustainable development of the country.

The SEC Boss, who made the appeal in his keynote address delivered at the Emerging Africa Capital Limited Investor Summit & Awards event with the theme “Deploying and Mobilizing Capital and Investment Strategies in a Shifting Global Economy”, noted that recent reforms initiated by the commission to transform the capital market were achieving desired results but stressed that a collective approach in pushing them would help in positioning Nigeria as a leading investment landscape in the global space.

Agama, who elaborately highlighted the implications of the current macroeconomic uncertainties in the global economic order for all economies globally, pointed out that while some countries remained the choice of many investors now due to quick returns opportunities, in the long run countries like Nigeria would offer longer benefits in view of their huge but yet to be fully explored opportunities.

According to him, Nigeria’s capital market has demonstrated considerable resilience in the face of the headwinds as the regulatory reforms, including the introduction of electronic offerings, the deepening of the bond market, the expansion of alternative investment platforms, and the SEC’s engagement with sustainable finance principles have begun to bear fruit in attracting renewed investor interest, indicative of a market in active evolution.

Despite the feats, the Director-General admitted that the full potential of what the capital market can do for Nigeria’s development had not yet been fully unlocked as the market capitalization, relative to GDP, remained below the benchmarks of Nigeria’s peer economies, while retail investor participation is still too thin and derivatives market is at its nascent stage.

To translate the potential to real gains for investors and the nation’s economy, Agama advocated collective responsibility since the capital market cannot be single-handedly built by regulators, exchanges or by investors alone, pointing out that its strength lies in stakeholders playing their roles with integrity, competence, and long-term orientation.

Specifically, he advised domestic corporate issuers to embrace the capital market as their primary pathway to growth financing by improving governance, sharpening disclosure, and building the investor relations capabilities that attract institutional capital.

He assured: “The market rewards quality, and the companies that invest in quality today will access capital on terms that compound their competitive advantage.”

This is even as he urged domestic institutional investors, particularly pension fund administrators and insurance companies to deepen their engagement with domestic capital market instruments, to participate actively in the price discovery process, and to develop the analytical capacity to invest confidently across asset classes and geographies as Nigeria’s savings pool is a resource of enormous strategic significance.

Similarly, the SEC boss assured foreign investors and development finance institutions that Nigeria remained open for investments as the SEC continued to create a regulatory environment that is principles-based, transparent, and aligned with international best practices.

The Director-General also appealed to his colleagues in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Debt Management Office(DMO), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the Pension Commission (PenCom), and other relevant agencies tocontinue to deepen inter-agency collaboration, harmonize our policies, and present a unified, investor-friendly face to the world as the sophistication of the nation’s capital market depended on the coherence of their regulatory frameworks.

On the promise of capital deployed with purpose, Agama said: “The history of economic development is, at its core, the history of how societies have organized the deployment of capital. The nations and peoples that have built great economies have done so not simply because they were endowed with resources, but because they developed the institutions, the instruments, and the discipline to channel those resources toward their highest and most productive uses.

“Nigeria stands at an inflection point. The global economy is shifting in ways that create both significant risks and significant opportunities for an emerging market of our scale and potential. The decisions we make — individually as investors and collectively as a financial community — in the next three to five years will determine whether we capture the upside of this moment or allow it to pass us by”, he added.