Latest studies have shown that Nigeria falls among the list of countries with the cheapest cost of communication, the Nigerian Communications Commission has said.
The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, stated this at the NCC day during the 30th Lagos International Trade Fair.
Represented by the Director, Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis at the NCC, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, the NCC EVC said that the commission was working very hard to ensure that consumers of telecommunications services in Nigeria were not highly billed.
According to Danbatta, the NCC recognises that consumers of telecommunications services in Nigeria need to get value for their money, and be treated as very important stakeholders in the scheme of things as far as service delivery was concerned.
“Let me recall that in the eight-point agenda of my administration, the issue of empowerment and protection of consumers occupies the sixth position. The vision is to protect consumers from unfair practices through availability of information to make informed decisions in the use of the ICT services,” he said.
He said the strategy the NCC was adopting in achieving the set objectives was the strengthening of initiatives to educate consumers on the use of communication services and acting swiftly whenever necessary in the use of enforcement to protect telecom services consumers’ rights.
Speaking at the event, the Head, Media and Public Relations, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said the consumers who doubted the fact that Nigeria was among countries with the cheapest rate of communication could go to other countries and experience their rates.
Muoka, who said the NCC was very concerned about the welfare of consumers, urged consumers not to hesitate to forward their complaints about any service provider to the NCC.
He stated that the NCC, which condemned sharp practices by service providers, would waste no time in appropriately sanctioning defaulters.
Speaking further, Muoka said the NCC had declared 2017 as the ‘Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer’, the essence of which was to reassure consumers that the issue of protecting them from unfair practices was not a mere talk, but a call to action.
He said the NCC had launched two codes to cater for the needs and efficiently attend to the complaints of consumers.
“The first code is the 622 toll-free complaint platform, where people can call to make their complaints. The second is the 2442 ‘do-not-disturb code’ that consumers can send prompt commands to,” he said.
He advised consumers to make use of the codes to stop unsolicited text messages and calls, and to lodge complaints to the commission if their service providers refused or were unable to resolve their complaints.
Posted by Juliet Ekwebelam (Punch)
