Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem is one of Africa’s most vibrant, driving financial inclusion, job creation, cross-border payments, digital lending, and blockchain innovation. The Nigerian Fintech Regulatory Commission Bill 2025 (“the Bill”), which has passed the second reading at the house, is sponsored by Honourable Fuad Kayode Laguda, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Surulere I Federal Constituency of Lagos State. The Bill seeks to create a new agency that would
be responsible for the licensing, regulation and supervision of fintech activities across the country.
However, a detailed review of its provisions shows that, rather than reducing fragmentation, the Bill may deepen regulatory overlap, conflict with existing legal frameworks, expand bureaucracy, and risk creating a costly new layer of compliance for operators. Critical regulatory mandates are currently being exercised by: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC); National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA); Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC); and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are
replicated or displaced without amending or repealing their enabling statutes.
