Senate Threatens to Summon Tijani, Telecom Operators Over Poor Network Services and Airtime Deductions

The Senate has warned that it could summon the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, as well as telecommunications operators, over persistent poor network services and alleged unjustified deductions from subscribers' airtime.

The warning followed a motion adopted at plenary on Wednesday, which highlighted the financial losses Nigerians suffer from failed calls, dropped connections and other network disruptions.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the Senate Committee on Communications would first engage the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and demand explanations over the complaints. He warned, however, that failure to provide satisfactory answers would compel the Senate to summon the minister, the NCC Executive Vice-Chairman and telecom operators for further questioning. He blamed inadequate regulatory supervision for some of the avoidable losses suffered by subscribers and said the Senate would take further action if there is no improvement.

The motion, sponsored by Senator Tahir Monguno and presented by Deputy Senate Majority Leader Oyelola Ashiru, drew attention to growing complaints from subscribers who lose airtime despite unsuccessful attempts to make calls. Monguno noted that Nigerians frequently experience failed connections, abrupt call disconnections, inaudible conversations and network interruptions, which force them to make repeated calls at extra cost. He argued that subscribers should not be charged for services that operators have failed to deliver effectively.

He urged the Senate to mandate its Committee on Communications to engage the NCC and relevant operators, investigate the complaints and recommend measures to protect consumers. Akpabio described the four-week reporting period proposed by the committee as too long, given the urgency of the situation.