By Ade Oyeyemi
The Senate has launched an investigation into telecommunications operators over alleged wrongful deductions of subscribers’ airtime for failed, dropped and prematurely terminated calls.
The decision followed growing complaints from Nigerians who alleged that their airtime was deducted even when calls failed to connect, ended unexpectedly or were disrupted by poor network services.
At plenary on Wednesday, lawmakers mandated the Senate Committee on Communications to summon the Nigerian Communications Commission and relevant network providers to investigate the complaints and determine the financial losses incurred by subscribers.
The committee was given four weeks to complete the assignment and submit its findings and recommendations for possible legislative and regulatory action.
The motion, which focused on consumer protection in the telecommunications industry, was sponsored by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno, and presented by the Deputy Senate Leader. It was seconded by Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North.
Backing the proposal, Nwoko said the probe was necessary to protect telecommunications users from losing money over services that were either poorly delivered or not provided.
He described the motion as timely, noting that subscribers across the country frequently experienced network-related problems while making calls.
During deliberations, the Deputy Minority Leader moved an amendment seeking the adoption of only the sixth prayer of the motion, arguing that it sufficiently captured the issues raised in the other five prayers.
The amendment, seconded by Senator Benios Yaro, representing Adamawa South, was approved through a voice vote conducted by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Reading the resolution, Akpabio said the investigation would examine complaints bordering on failed calls, dropped connections, unterminated calls and excessive billing.
The resolution also seeks an accessible complaint and redress system, automatic refunds for calls verified to have failed, independent technical audits of operators’ billing platforms and stricter enforcement of existing quality-of-service standards.
The affected telecommunications companies are MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel and T2 Mobile.
Akpabio urged the committee, chaired by Senator Bill Bills, to begin work without delay, although he described the four-week period allotted to it as relatively long.
He warned that the Senate might assume responsibility for the investigation through a Committee of the Whole if the panel failed to deliver a satisfactory report within the deadline.
The Senate President said the lawmakers could subsequently summon all the affected operators, alongside the minister supervising the NCC and the commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, to provide explanations on the complaints.
He stressed that persistent grievances by subscribers and the financial losses associated with poor telecommunications services required urgent attention from the National Assembly.
Akpabio added that inadequate regulatory oversight could be contributing to the recurring challenges, insisting that the NCC, relevant government officials and network providers must be held accountable.
The investigation is expected to establish the scale of subscribers’ losses, determine whether telecommunications operators comply with regulations on transparent billing and service quality, and identify weaknesses in the enforcement of consumer protection measures.
Its findings could inform further regulatory and legislative interventions, including tighter monitoring of network providers, improved complaint-resolution procedures and refunds for subscribers where improper deductions are established.
