Nigerian authorities are looking to possibly impose additional fines on telecom operators after the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ministry said that operators were failing to meet minimum established standards.
It comes as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) last month barred operators from issuing any new promotions or lotteries until their customer service ratings improve.
A number of the country’s operators flouted the ruling and have continued to offer promotions to their customers.
In May operators were fined some NGN 1.7 billion for inadequate service quality and the NCC is continuing to put pressure on telecom companies to improve their services or face service blockages.
ICT Minister Omobola Johnson told reporters that the operators face additional fines “if service improvements are not met.”
However, Johnson added that the government “was working closely with the operators to avoid further fines in the next six months.
“While the companies need to increase their spending on infrastructure, the ministry is trying to remove a lot of delays and bureaucratic bottlenecks that are in their way,” Johnson said.
David Eto