The Nigerian Communications Commission says consumers in the country dominate the African telecommunications landscape with a base of over 154 million subscribers

THE Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has explained why it is dedicating one full year to celebrate consumers in the telecommunications sector.

The 2017 Year of the Nigerian Consumer is significant because it was the first time the NCC will single out the consumer and dedicate a year of activities towards safeguarding the rights, protecting the interests, and empowering the consumer to make informed decisions. The NCC is placing the consumer atop the stakeholder ladder of the NCC because he/she is one of the key stakeholders of the NCC. With a base of over 154 million subscribers, the Nigerian consumers dominate the African telecommunications landscape.

“This initiative is derivative of the 8-Point Agenda of the present NCC Management leveraging on the two key components of Improving Quality of Service (QoS); and Informing and Empowering Consumers. The Telecom consumer embraces for us at NCC the various stakeholders we are mandated by the NCA 2003 to protect, inform and educate. Beyond the individual consumer who uses multiple operators and hence lines, we have in the stakeholder matrix other consumers such as the State governments, the national Assembly, MDAs, etc,” Sunday Dare, executive commissioner, Stakeholders Management, he said.

According to him, NCC seeks an inclusive approach as stipulated in its corporate code of governance for the telecommunication industry. It states inter alia this inclusive approach recognises that the licensee’s long term interests are best served by an appropriate consideration of the legitimate expectations and interests of key stakeholders. This is why this journey during which NCC will strive to ensure customer satisfaction attains a level never witnessed before is of importance, he said adding that “Our goal is to make the consumer experience of the average Nigerian better.”

He said: “The drivers of the NCC 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer are the 2442 Do-Not-Disturb Service Code, the 622 toll free complaints line, Quality of Service, QoS and concerns about the Electromagnetic Field, EMF radiation. These are the areas the information provided in the course of the campaign would focus on.

“For the Nigerian telecom consumer and indeed the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), things have come almost full circle. They know each other and need each other. The NCC as a regular stands like an impartial umpire, a referee engaging and monitoring to ensure the interests of all parties are respected. From a customer base of slightly over four hundred thousand in the height of NITEL’s glory, we now have a combined subscriber base of over 150 million across the country. This boom and massive jump in mobile telephony have brought with it several challenges especially in terms of reliable service, network upgrade, expansion and maintenance, and increasing demand for CAPEX injection into the telecom industry.

“In the midst of these, the average consumer runs the risk of just becoming a number. This danger therefore means that the customer suffers of times in silence in the hands of the operators primarily in the areas of dropped calls, failed calls often called Call Set Up Success Rate (CSSR) among others.

“This is exactly why this year is dedicated to the consumer. The NCC is charged with ensuring that the average consumer gets the best satisfaction possible from the use of the line he has acquired. Thus, mindful of the pains and challenges of a growing economy and a rapidly developing industry, NCC intends to strike a balance. A balance albeit in favour of the consumer who of times is at the receiving end,” he said.

Photo: L-R Ali Nuhu, emir of Kannywood, Helen Paul, commedian; director general, National Orientation Agency, Garba Abari; executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta; Chairman House Committee on Information, Security and Strategy, Tunde Braimoh representing the speaker,  Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa; Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, Nigerian Communications Commission, Sunday Dare; Chief of Staff to the EVC, Nigerian Communications Commission, Usman Malah at the Lagos Flag Off of the NCC’s 2017 Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumer Campaign which held on May 17, at the Blue Roof Event Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

—  May 17, 2017 @ 20:15 GMT