Abuja: Dr Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and innovation in regulating the country’s telecommunications sector. Many Nigerians have expressed concerns over high tariffs and expensive data offered by telecom providers. During an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja, Maida assured that the NCC is determined to protect the interests of telecom services and mobile data users nationwide.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Maida revealed that the NCC is adopting information disclosure strategies rooted in behavioral economics to encourage service providers to enhance their performance. He announced the upcoming launch of a public map for network performance in September, which will offer transparent access to real-time quality metrics, such as download speed and latency. This initiative, based on crowd-sourced user data, expands accountability beyond mobile network operators to include co-location service providers (TACOs) responsible for infrastructure reliability.
The event underscored the commission’s promise to engage more regularly and meaningfully with key stakeholders, especially the media. Maida emphasized the importance of corporate governance as a powerful tool for industry transformation, stating that transparent, well-governed companies attract investment and perform better. He outlined several significant developments in the industry, including tariff adjustments, corporate governance guidelines, and the successful conclusion of the National Identity Number (NIN) to SIM linkage audit.
Maida also highlighted the resolution of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt issues, the transition to end-user billing, and the introduction of the Major Incident Reporting Portal as part of the industry’s development. He discussed the progress toward revising the National Telecom Policy, noting that the traditional model based on rigid rules is no longer sufficient in today’s digital landscape. The NCC is now complementing regulation with transparency and data-driven competition.
The NCC’s internal analysis finds strong correlations between good governance practices and improved financial performance, service delivery, and regulatory compliance. For failed network top-ups, Maida informed that a joint NCC-CBN task force had developed a new operational framework to standardize electronic recharge processes. The NCC commissioned Tier-1 audit firms to assess operators’ billing systems for perceived data depletion, revealing no systemic manipulation of consumer data but pointing to factors like background app usage and unoptimized device settings.
He emphasized that all initiatives aim to create a stronger, more transparent, consumer-centric telecom ecosystem. Maida expressed confidence in the sector’s potential and reaffirmed the NCC’s commitment to a collaborative, forward-looking regulatory approach. Freda Bruce-Bennett, Director of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, shared practical tips for Nigerians to manage data usage effectively, such as turning off autoplay on social media apps and limiting background data consumption.
Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, Director of Public Affairs at the NCC, described the media as critical stakeholders whose roles in public engagement are invaluable. She invited the media to collaborate openly with the NCC to convey transformative policies to the people of Nigeria.