Senate Threatens To Summon Telecom Operators, Minister Over Poor Network Services, Airtime Deductions

The Senate has warned that it could summon the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, as well as telecommunications operators over persistent poor network services and alleged unjustified deductions from subscribers’ airtime.

The warning followed a motion adopted during plenary today, highlighting the financial losses Nigerians suffer from failed calls, dropped connections and other network disruptions.

The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, stated that the Senate committee on communications would first engage the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and demand explanations over the complaints.

He, however, warned that failure to provide satisfactory answers would compel the Senate to summon the minister, the NCC Executive Vice-Chairman and telecommunications operators for further questioning.

He blamed inadequate regulatory supervision for some of the avoidable losses suffered by subscribers, insisting that the Senate would take further action if there was no improvement.

The motion, sponsored by Senator Tahir Monguno and presented by the Deputy Senate Majority Leader, Oyelola Ashiru, drew attention to the growing complaints of subscribers who lose airtime despite unsuccessful attempts to make calls.

Sen. Monguno noted that Nigerians frequently experience failed connections, abrupt call disconnections, inaudible conversations and network interruptions, forcing them to make repeated calls at additional costs.

He argued that subscribers should not be charged for services that telecommunications operators have failed to deliver effectively.

The senator urged the Senate to mandate its Committee on Communications to engage the NCC and relevant operators to investigate the complaints and recommend measures to protect consumers.

Sen. Akpabio described the four-week reporting period proposed by the committee as too long, given the urgency of the situation.