Companies operating in the telecommunications sector may have to sit up soon as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC) have joined forces to investigate practices in the industry.
The NCC disclosed this in a statement posted on its Twitter handle.
@NgComCommission and @CPCNig
on a Joint Regulatory Consumer Protection Investigation in Telecommunications Sector held on 10th September 2018 at the NCC Head Office Abuja. pic.twitter.com/vpabghxHmw— ncc.gov.ng (@NgComCommission) September 11, 2018
The motive behind the inquiry
The agencies stated that the probe was in response to complaints from members of the public as well as a resolution of the Senate, to investigate basic essential services.
Where they will focus on
According to the statement, the investigation will focus on areas such as service quality, service issues such as call masking, unsolicited subscription, difficulty in subscribing to billed value added services and transparency in billing.
Table shaking in view
The inquiry could lead to sanctions on the firms, as agencies of government have stepped up enforcement.
MTN Nigeria, one of the country’s largest GSM operators was recently asked to repatriate $8.1 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In addition, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami has accused the company of owing $2 billion as back taxes.
The CPC has tackled several prominent brands in the last few months. The agency last month obtained a court order restraining Multichoice Nigeria from increasing its prices. The company, however, went ahead.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Tunde Fowler also dislcosed that the agency would go after the bank accounts of billionaires that have failed to pay taxes.