Senate Plenary [PHOTO CREDIT: @NgrSenate]
The upper chamber said it would invite the minister and the operators if a scheduled meeting between the Senate Committee on Communications and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) failed to provide satisfactory answers to Nigerians’ concerns.
The Senate on Wednesday threatened to summon the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, and telecommunications operators in Nigeria over persistent poor network services and unjustified deductions from subscribers’ airtime.
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The upper chamber said it would invite the minister and the operators if a scheduled meeting between the Senate Committee on Communications and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) failed to address Nigerians’ concerns satisfactorily.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio announced the resolution during plenary after lawmakers debated a motion seeking to curb unjustified deductions from subscribers’ airtime arising from poor telecommunications services.
The motion was sponsored by Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) but presented on the floor by Oyelola Ashiru (APC, Kwara South).
The motion initially urged the Senate Committee on Communications to invite the NCC and telecommunications operators to investigate the complaints and report back to the chamber within four weeks.
However, Mr Akpabio argued that four weeks was too long, given the urgency of the matter, although he said the Senate would allow the committee the stipulated period to engage the regulator.
He warned that if the NCC failed to provide satisfactory explanations, the Senate would summon the minister, the commission’s Executive Vice-Chairman and telecommunications operators to address the concerns.
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“Four weeks is too long, but we can allow it. If they didn’t satisfy us, then we will have to take it to a Committee of the Whole and invite all the operators, in addition to the minister overseeing the NCC and also the executive vice chairman of NCC, to ask this pertinent question because the public is complaining and our job is to make sure that we tackle the concerns of the Nigerian public,” he said.
The Senate President attributed some of the persistent network failures and avoidable financial losses suffered by subscribers to inadequate supervision of telecommunications operators by regulatory authorities.
He said the Senate would first engage the NCC before considering further action involving the minister and the operators.
“And also the losses, the suffer that are avoidable. Some of these things are because nobody is really supervising them well and also we need to talk to NCC and after that, we will take it up with the minister and then discuss with operators. If we don’t have any change, we’ll know what to do thereafter,” he added.
Presenting the motion, Mr Ashiru, the deputy majority leader of the Senate, said Nigerians had lost substantial amounts of money through unnecessary airtime deductions despite the poor quality of telecommunications services.
He said subscribers frequently experienced failed call connections, abrupt disconnections, inaudible conversations and network interruptions, often resulting in airtime deductions without effective communication.
The senator said subscribers are also forced to make repeated calls to connect successfully, incurring additional costs from network deficiencies beyond their control.
Mr Ashiru argued that Nigerians should not be made to pay for telecommunications services that have not been delivered effectively, maintaining that purchasing airtime means paying for a service rather than merely attempting to establish communication.
He urged the Senate to mandate its Committee on Communications to invite the NCC and relevant telecommunications operators to investigate the complaints and address subscribers’ concerns.
Most of the senators who contributed to the debate supported the motion.
The Senate subsequently adopted the motion and its prayers.
Poor network services, rising costs
The Senate’s concerns come amid persistent complaints from telecommunications subscribers across Nigeria about poor network quality, including dropped calls, failed connections, slow internet speeds, and interrupted data services.
In January 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved a 50 per cent increase in telecommunications tariffs following requests from operators, who cited rising operational costs, including foreign exchange pressures, inflation and rising energy costs. The regulator said the adjustment was intended to support investment in telecommunications infrastructure and improve service delivery.
However, subscribers have continued to complain about poor service delivery despite higher call and data subscription costs.
The NCC acknowledged in May that consumers were still experiencing dropped calls, slow internet speeds, unstable data connections and service disruptions. It also identified fibre-optic cable cuts, vandalism, power disruptions, and restricted access to telecommunications infrastructure as factors affecting network performance.
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The scale of subscribers’ complaints was also reflected in NCC data, which showed that telecommunications operators recorded 413,587 complaints in the first half of 2026. The complaints covered network quality, data depletion, billing and failed transactions.
Poor network quality also imposes additional financial burdens on subscribers, particularly when failed connections compel them to make repeated calls to reach the same person. With call tariffs already increased, subscribers can exhaust their airtime faster while attempting to complete conversations that should ordinarily require fewer call attempts.
The NCC has established minimum quality-of-service benchmarks for operators, including a call setup success rate of at least 90 per cent and a maximum call drop rate of two per cent. These standards are intended to ensure that subscribers receive reliable telecommunications services.
In March, the regulator also directed mobile network operators to compensate subscribers in locations where they failed to meet prescribed quality-of-service standards over specified periods. The compensation framework, which took effect in April, provides for automatic airtime credits to affected subscribers.
Despite these regulatory measures, complaints about unreliable services and the financial implications for subscribers have continued, raising questions about the enforcement of existing standards and the accountability of telecommunications operators.