The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said yesterday that the Federal Government’s directive was “dictatorial and could scare away investors from the country.”
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, yesterday, directed the Board and Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to resolve the issues of illegal data deduction and review downwards, the price of data within five days.
Dr Pantami issued the directive during the presentation of Barrister Adeleke Moronfolu Adewolu, the new board member and Executive Commissioner. Adewolu was presented to the minister by the Chairman of the NCC Board, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
The minister pointed out that there were numerous complaints from Nigerians regarding illegal data deduction and high price of data, adding that he had personally experienced illegal data deduction. “I am urging the management of NCC to work towards reducing the price of data in Nigeria. It is too costly and people are complaining every day,” the minister said.
“If you go to other countries, even countries that are not as largely populated as Nigeria, data prices are not this high. I am also a victim of some of the infractions that are so common in the industry. You load your data but you barely use 20 per cent of it and the entire data is wiped off. “The last time I commented on the issue of illegal data deduction…This is one of the issues that worry me badly today. Engr. Wakil making a presentation on behalf of EVC (Executive Vice Chairman), he tried to defend the operators on one hand and the commission on the other, but I was not fully convinced with the explanation.
“Please go, sit down and review that issue. It is very important and I want to get your feedback with that report in the next five working days with the decision on it because the complaint from Nigerian is beyond what I can handle as it is today, people are complaining,” he said.
Dr Pantami charged NCC to facilitate the penetration and expansion of 3G and 4G and urged the commission to design a target on how mobile operators could expand penetration in Nigeria. He, however, said government was aware of the challenges mobile operators were experiencing in their business such as vandalism and issues of Right of Way (ROW).
According to him, “the way we pursue the mobile operators to do what is right, we should also work together to protect their interest and resolve the challenges they face.” Our interest is to protect Nigerians The minister said the main agenda of NCC should be to protect the interest of customers, saying “and our priority is to protect Nigerians.” According to him, “It is our collective responsibility to make sure we give 100 per cent support to Mr. President to deliver his key mandate.”
He charged the new commissioner to use his experience and support the board to fight corruption, noting that the success of NCC and the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is the success of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, speaking on the new directive, ALTON’s chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, said that NCC should be allowed some level of independence. “It shouldn’t be muzzled so that the gains recorded in the country’s telecom industry are not reversed,” he said.
He wondered how the new directive will work without a good framework that will save the huge investments made by the telecom operators. “I don’t know how the government is going to achieve that (data reduction) in five days. Have they put into consideration the high cost of operating our businesses and the very harsh operating environment we are in?” he asked. “Why are they trying to muzzle the NCC and stampede it into doing what is unrealistic? Do they know that operators don’t just sit down and fix tariffs.”
They, with NCC, rely on so many things before coming up with tariffs. “We do not know under what circumstances the directive was given, and to be honest with you, we don’t know how that is going to be achieved. “We have said it several times that when policies interfere with commercial matters, the industry will be jeopardised. Government needs to be careful not to whittle down the powers of regulators.”
-dailytrust