Senate has directed its Committee on Communications to investigate complaints of unexplained airtime deductions by telecommunications companies and invite the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), MTN, Globacom and other operators for questioning.
‎‎The directive followed the consideration of a motion sponsored by Senate Chief Whip, Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno North), and seconded by Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North) during Wednesday’s plenary.
‎‎Senator Lola Ashiru (APC, Kwara South), who presented the motion on behalf of Monguno, said millions of Nigerians depended on telecommunications services for their daily activities, making reliable network services essential to individuals, businesses and public institutions.
‎‎He noted that subscribers regularly lost airtime through dropped calls, failed connections and interrupted conversations, despite not receiving the communication services they had paid for.
‎Monguno further observed that poor network services often forced customers to make repeated calls to complete conversations, resulting in additional expenses for subscribers.
‎‎He warned that the financial implications of such deductions across millions of mobile users could amount to significant losses, particularly for traders, students and small-scale business operators.
‎‎Supporting the motion, Nwoko described the issue as one requiring urgent attention, noting that telecommunications difficulties affected virtually every Nigerian.
‎‎He maintained that subscribers should not be made to pay for services that were not properly delivered and called for regulatory intervention to address the complaints.
‎‎Following deliberations, the Senate mandated its Committee on Communications to investigate complaints of failed and dropped calls, examine the financial losses suffered by subscribers and make recommendations for legislative action.
‎‎Senate President Godswill Akpabio also directed the committee to engage the minister responsible for telecommunications and the leadership of the NCC as part of its investigation.
‎‎He gave the committee four weeks to submit its findings and recommendations.
‎‎(NAN)