NCC rallies telecoms consumers to quality service delivery

Nigerian telecoms regulatory agency, the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), has pledged to empower telecoms’ consumers with adequate information and education through constant engagements at various levels across the country.

This, the Commission stated, was part of its determined efforts to ensure Telecoms consumers have value for money through effective service delivery.

Speaking at a one-day Consumer Outreach Programme (COP) in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the Vice Chairman, Chief Executive of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the telecom regulatory agency had put in place measures to ensure that Nigerians are not short-changed by telecoms operators.

He said the 98th edition of the COP was one of the initiatives of the regulatory commission to bring together telecoms consumers in the rural areas with the network operators and the NCC to discuss, proffer solutions, among others.

He said: “The programme is to enable a tripartite meeting of the regulators, operators and consumers with a view to enlighten telecom consumers and resolve pressing consumers issues with respect to provision of telecoms services.”

Represented by Ismail Adedigba, Deputy Director, Consumers Affairs Bureau, Danbata said the commission had been inundated with various complaints, such as unsolicited text messages and calls and failure to roll over unused data at the expiration of data bundle by service provider among others.

He said the commission, in response to the complaints, had developed a short code (2442 DND) to solve the unsolicited text messages/calls and it is presently working to abate other menace, which intend to short changed the consumers.

The NCC boss said failure of the various service providers to comply with the directives would be meet with appropriate sanction.

He urged participants at the interactive forum to come out with useful suggestions that would make the NCC serve them better and also used the opportunity to resolve complaints bothering on service provisions by service providers.