Nigeria’s National Assembly has announced its intention to initiate an investigation into the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), after the body was given N6.1 billion by the Federal Government for SIM card registration.
“The National Assembly will definitely probe the N6.1 billion that was given to NCC for SIM (card) registration. Nigerians would like to know how the money was disbursed to the telecoms operators,” said Oyetunde Ojo, Chairman of the House Committee on Communications.
Ojo added that mobile operators aren’t operating at the level they should, and said that there are still too many dropped calls in the nation – urging operators to improve their services.
“For now, I will score the operators low because they have not performed up to expectations. Regulators should ensure that operators justify what Nigerians are paying for. Even at NASS, you can’t even make some calls in my office block,” he explained.
Ojo also added that Nigeria will be looking at changing the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003 in an effort to improve mobile services.
“There will be an amendment of the Acts. When we are amending the Acts this time around, both our counterpart in environment will come together as one body. On the areas of drop calls and base stations, it is a critical issue we are looking at and that is why we are set to amend the Acts.”
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
