September 11, 2018/ NCC & CPC
Today as a nation, we take a very important step with respect to protecting consumers and ensuring that the telecommunication industry remains robust, continues it leading role in its our economic growth and expanding prosperity to citizens.
Indeed, the telecommunications industry has become one of the most vital to our economy, and in particular inclusiveness for a large and vast nation such as ours. As such, it is a matter of utmost importance and urgency that we pay the appropriate attention to growing the industry and protecting consumers. These two crucial objectives are not mutually exclusive. At the end of the day, we are regulators, and operators in the industry have a unified mutual objective, and that is to ensure that consumers are happy with, and happy to pay for.
In the spirit of this mutual objective, today, we announce the commencement of a joint regulatory inquiry into consumer issues in the telecommunication industry by the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission and the Consumer Protection Council. This is the right thing to do. It promotes regulatory collaboration and all round protection. It also ensures regulatory clarity and eliminates possible multiple regulatory approaches to similar issues. This is good for industry and operators as well as investors who always appreciates such clarity and stability. This is consistent and complimentary to the Federal Government’s commitment to Ease of Doing Business and the Economic Recovery and growth plan which prioritize people, and firm but clear regulation that protects citizen, and promotes business and investment.
This joint inquiry which is in further partnership with relevant security is in part on account of incessant and continuing dissatisfaction and complaints by consumers. It is also in part in response to a resolution of the Senate of the National Assembly requiring investigation and remedial measures of vital services issues and grievances by consumers. Both NCC and CPC intend to keep abreast of this important issue to ensure enhanced operations and customer satisfaction.
The scope of the investigation essentially includes service quality, service issues such as call making, unsolicited subscriptions, difficulty with unsubscribing to billed value added services, and transparency in billing with respect to clarity, data roll over, disclosures about real consumption, deductions for value added services and other key telecommunications services.
The expected outcomes are better services, more transparent charges and increased customer service responsiveness by telecommunications operators. NCC and CPC have assembled a team of skilled operatives to discharge this assignment and look forward to the cooperation of consumers, operators and other stakeholders, particularly with providing information as may be, and when necessary that could be relevant to the subjects of the inquiry.
Sunday Akin Dare Babatunde Irukera
Executive Commissioner Director General
Stakeholder Management Consumer Protection Council (CPC)
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
