Solsix: Are you serious? Nawa why are people still going for more loan
Those outrageous penalties and charges are what they claim to write off and report to the government as losses. Even a normal loan (without defaulting) can double in just 6 months due to excessively high interest rates. They also allegedly prefer offering short-term loans in the hope that borrowers wouldn't have enough "breathing space" to recover from the financial difficulties that forced them to patronize loan-sharks in the first place.
OPay's SEC filing shows $113.15m in loans written off in six months. Here is what the numbers say, what the ₦150bn claim gets wrong, and what borrowers should do.
OPay is one of Nigeria’s most-used money apps. Its first public financial statements have now put a number on a problem many borrowers and bankers already suspected. A lot of loans are not coming back.
In circulation, the story reads like this: “OPay lost ₦150 billion in loans because Nigerians refused to pay back.” The headline travels well. The filing behind it tells a more careful story, and the difference matters for anyone who borrows on a phone.
What OPay’s filing actually says OPay filed a registration statement (Form F-1) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 9 October 2026. It seeks a New York listing under the ticker OPAY. The filing covers the first half of 2026 and opens the books on a fast-growing lending business.
Meanwhile, the company is profitable. Revenue reached $467.06 million, and profit after tax hit $90.87 million. Lending income of $236.12 million now makes up just over half of revenue. Nigeria supplies about 89.5% of it.
Where does the ₦150 billion figure come from? The filing reports dollars. It gives no naira total for write-offs. Therefore, any naira figure depends on the exchange rate that a writer picks.
At an illustrative ₦1,500 to the dollar, $113.15 million is roughly ₦170 billion. At the same rate, ₦150 billion equals about $100 million. So the viral number does not match the filing, and the Gazette could not trace it to any source.
The honest summary is simple. OPay wrote off a very large sum in six months. The exact naira value moves with the exchange rate. The ₦150 billion label is unconfirmed.
Two ways to read the same loan book The filing also reports a bad-loan ratio. OPay defines a non-performing loan as one that is 90 days or more past due. On that measure, its ratio stood at 4.3% on 30 June 2026. It was 4.6% at the end of 2024, 5.2% at the end of 2025 and 4.8% a year earlier.
So both numbers are true at once. The ratio is modest, and the write-offs are very large. One measures loans still on the books. The other measures loans already removed.
A write-off is not proof that Nigerians “refused” to pay A write-off is an accounting step. A lender removes a loan from its books when it judges the money unlikely to come back. The step says nothing about why the borrower stopped paying.
The last point does happen. A lender-software founder told TechCabal in 2025, “People are borrowing from different lenders without the intention of paying back.” However, nothing in OPay’s filing measures intent. It reports unpaid balances, not motives.
Bigger loans, longer terms, higher prices The filing points to lender choices as well. OPay says its bad-loan ratio rose in the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. It blames a deliberate, temporary widening of its risk appetite for larger and longer loans. The ratio then fell in the first half of 2026 after OPay tightened consumer lending and moved toward merchant loans.
The scale of that expansion is striking. OPay originated $1.56 billion in Nigerian loans in the 12 months to 30 June 2026. Its quarterly borrowers in Nigeria are now more than seven times the number in early 2024. The company funds most of these loans from its own balance sheet, so every unpaid naira is its own loss.
Pricing also plays a part. The filing admits that OPay charges interest rates on certain Nigerian credit products that are higher than those typically seen. It adds that current Nigerian law permits this. Meanwhile, the filing shows a risk-adjusted net interest margin of 21.1%, up from 19.2% a year earlier.
Bigger loans at higher prices raise the odds of default. Blaming borrowers alone ignores that.
What OPay says it is doing OPay says it has tightened consumer lending. It is shifting toward merchant loans, which it regards as lower risk. The overdue share also improved, from 34.2% in December 2025 to 27.4% in June. However, the overdue amount grew, from $93.71 million to $113.80 million.
In other words, the rate is getting better while the pile is getting bigger. Growth in new lending explains part of that.
A sector-wide problem, with new rules OPay is not alone. The number of approved digital lenders rose from 173 in April 2023 to 461 in August 2025, according to figures from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). The The Central Bank of Nigeria, which sets interest rates and manages the naira.’s Q2 2025 Credit Condition Survey reported higher default rates for secured and unsecured lending. The IMF has also warned that rising bad loans in non-bank lenders and fast-growing fintech lending pose risks to financial stability.
Regulators have responded. The FCCPC’s 2025 digital lending regulations took effect in July 2025, and the compliance deadline passed on 5 January 2026. According to reports, the rules ban abusive recovery tactics and stop apps from reading customers’ contact lists and photos. They also require lenders to disclose all fees and to lend only to people who can repay. Reported penalties reach ₦100 million or 1% of annual turnover.
Therefore, the OPay numbers are best read as a sign of how quickly consumer credit has grown. Fast growth brings fast losses when incomes stay under pressure.
What borrowers should do If you use a loan app, a few habits protect you.
Also remember that a write-off by a lender does not automatically cancel what you owe. Treat any loan as a debt until the lender confirms in writing that it is settled.
What to watch next OPay still has to answer several questions that its filing leaves open. How much will it recover from written-off loans? How many borrowers take repeat loans? How does it disclose the full cost of credit to ordinary customers? The Gazette has not seen a company response on these points and will update this report if one appears.
Meanwhile, regulators have a clear job. Nigeria needs rules that protect borrowers and still let lenders price risk fairly. The OPay filing shows how large the stakes have become.
Bottom line OPay did write off a huge sum in six months, and its overdue loans are large. However, the ₦150 billion figure is not in the filing, and the claim that Nigerians simply “refused” to pay goes beyond the evidence. The real story is about fast lending growth, bigger and longer loans, high interest rates, stretched incomes and thin safeguards.
That looks healthy beside the 8.03% that TechCabal cites for the banking industry. However, the comparison is not clean. TechCabal reports that OPay charges off a loan at 120 days past due. Nigerian banks typically wait much longer, up to 360 days.
The gap matters. A lender that writes off early removes bad loans from its books sooner. Its ratio then looks better. OPay does not disclose the value of loans charged off between 120 and 360 days. Therefore, nobody outside the company can say what its ratio would be on a bank-style timeline.
You know Nigeria is under 2 decade long covert sanctions that is worse than Russia.
I watched this video where some Kenyans were complaining about AI training jobs. Their pay is a little above ₦500k per month, and they only work 8 hours a day, remotely! That’s comparable to a senior civil servant's salary.
They have a source from OUTSIDE (usually a toilet).
To reduce the problem, wash all plates, seal all food and empty trash cans outside by 6pm. (that is removing their food source). Then fumigate the kitchen.
Bankowner: Not a shred of protein in that watery concoction called soup. And billions have been wasted across the country in the name of school feeding program.
DeadCountry: May events and food kpai all of una there. Black man and his stomach first before his freedom. Just give him food and let him dance and his ambition is fulfilled.
Are you in Nigeria with your foooqin family? If no, please shut up
I am skeptical this is just someone with his password.
Elon Musk must have given authorities all his details including private messages and past geolocations (that is why you don't have access to the his Twitter Account yet). Make live video with todays date 20th Nov. 2024... Lies doesn't help your followers.
If not for Nigerian past human rights violations, this would have been done smoothly... He is a citizen so he is safe (even their prison makes sense)...
If they send him to Nigeria, he would talk and expose all his sponsors (including some in government right now).
Today he is destabilizing part of Nigeria from Finland. tomorrow he could be destabilizing parts of Finland from another state in the middle east or Russia.
Sunday Dare, who was originally Special Adviser on Public Communication and National Orientation, now takes on the title of Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications.
Daniel Bwala, who had just been announced as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communication, is now Special Adviser, Policy Communication.
And Bayo Onanuga himself remains Special Adviser, Information and Strategy.
Presidency downgrades Daniel Bwala’s role after he declared himself Tinubu’s spokesman
Hours after Daniel Bwala declared himself as the official spokesman of President Bola Tinubu, the presidency has adjusted his role.
At his first briefing in the State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Bwala told journalists he is the president’s official spokesman.
A few hours later, Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, released a statement tweaking Bwala’s role.
Part of the statement read: “President Bola Tinubu has re-designated the positions of two recently appointed officials in the State House media and communications team to enhance efficiency within the government’s communication machinery.
“The restructuring is as follows: Mr. Sunday Dare – hitherto Special Adviser on Public Communication and National Orientation is now Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications.
“Mr. Daniel Bwala announced last week as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communication, and is now Special Adviser Policy Communication.
“These appointments, along with the existing role of Special Adviser, Information and Strategy, underscore that there is no single individual spokesperson for the Presidency.
“Instead, all the three Special Advisers will collectively serve as spokespersons for the government.”
Recall that in September, Ajuri Ngelale stepped down as the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity.
Protests: Policeman Reported Murdered Miraculously Survived — Force PRO
IGP Kayode Egbetokun had on Thursday said a policeman was murdered while on duty during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The police on Saturday said a policeman who was reported murdered on the first day of the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests has “miraculously survived”.
“Nine (9) police officers sustained various degrees of injuries during attacks by protesters.
“One of them who initially was reported dead miraculously survived but remains in critical condition,” Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi said in a statement on Saturday.
Adejobi also said a total of 681 suspects have been arrested so far for various violent crimes during the protests. The suspects were arrested in Abuja, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, and Sokoto.
At a briefing on Thursday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, had said a policeman was murdered while on duty during the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests.
He had lamented that events in major cities on Thursday were “mass uprising and looting, not protests”.
“In places like FCT, Kaduna, Kano and Gombe, among others, we recorded incidents of unprovoked attacks on our security personnel where one policeman has been reported murdered and others seriously injured.
“In light of the current situation, the Nigeria Police Force has placed all units on red alert. Our officers are fully mobilised and prepared to respond swiftly and decisively to public safety and order,” the IGP had said.
Activist Deji Adeyanju had on the same day challenged the IGP to name the policeman he claimed was killed. He had said it was not true that a cop was killed.
The #EndBadGovernance protests against economic hardship scheduled for 10 days entered its third day on Saturday as resilient youths pushed on, insisting that President Bola Tinubu meet their demands.
Some of the protesters’ demands include the restoration of petrol subsidies and the forex regime. They also want the government to address food shortages, unemployment and wasteful spending by those in power. Other demands are a reduction of the President’s cabinet and general cost of governance, immediate reforms of the electoral umpire INEC and anti-graft agency EFCC with renewed vigour in the fight against corrupt politicians.
The protests turned awry in Kano, Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa and other states where rampaging hoodlums took advantage of the situation and burned vehicles, and looted warehouses and private stores.
Till Day 3, policemen were seen dispersing protesters using tear gas, even as civil society organisations condemned the action of the police.
Protest: Police debunked killing of teenager in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has debunked news alleging that its officers were involved in the killing of a teenager during the ongoing protest in Abuja.
The spokesperson of the FCT Command, SP Josephine Adeh, in a statement on Saturday, however, said that the Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh has ordered an immediate enquiry into the remote cause of the teenager’s death.
“In response to the video footage making the rounds alleging the killing of a yet-to-be identified teenager by police operatives in Kubwa by Zenith Bank while protesting on August 3rd, 2024, the FCT police command thereby debunks the allegations, stating that its operatives are not responsible for the killing of the teenager, as the operatives deployed to the axis were NOT issued lethal arms but only with anti-riot equipment not capable of occasioning the death of the teenager,” Adeh wrote on X.
“Also, the command is aware of the antics of mischief makers who may want to exploit the current situation in the country to spread false information with the aim at misleading and causing apprehension in the populace; it therefore calls on residents to shun such misinformation, as the command is committed to ensuring the security and safety of all and sundry"
Business › Re: Opay Loan Losses: $113m Written Off, But Did Nigerians Refuse To Pay? by sketching(op): 7:53pm On Oct 19
