The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, has restated the regulator’s commitment to transparency, accountability and innovation in overseeing the country’s telecommunications industry.
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Speaking at an interactive session with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, Maida said the commission was determined to safeguard the interests of mobile users and data subscribers nationwide, particularly at a time when many Nigerians continue to complain about what they describe as high tariffs and costly data services.
He explained that the NCC was adopting disclosure strategies rooted in behavioural economics to encourage service providers to improve performance. A public map for network quality is expected to be launched in September, giving consumers access to real-time metrics such as download speeds and latency.
“This initiative is built on quarterly network performance reports drawn from crowd-sourced user data,” Maida said. “It also broadens accountability beyond mobile operators to include co-location service providers (TACOs) responsible for infrastructure reliability.”
According to him, the engagement underscored the NCC’s promise to interact more regularly and meaningfully with stakeholders, particularly the media. He noted that corporate governance was a powerful tool for transformation, stressing that transparent and well-governed companies attract more investment and perform more strongly.
“We are laying the foundation for a Nigerian telecom company that is wholly owned, well-run, and globally competitive,” he added.
Maida outlined recent developments in the sector, which include tariff adjustments and simplification, the rollout of corporate governance guidelines, and the conclusion of the National Identity Number (NIN) to SIM linkage audit. He also cited the resolution of the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt, the transition to end-user billing, and the launch of a Major Incident Reporting Portal.
On the ongoing review of the National Telecom Policy, he argued that the traditional model of regulation, which was built on rigid enforcement, is no longer adequate in today’s digital landscape.
“In the early 2000s, the focus was on regulating voice and text. Today we are in the information age, with more than 1,000 licences under our purview,” Maida explained. “Scaling the old model is not practical. We are now complementing regulation with transparency and data-driven competition.”
He said the NCC’s internal analysis had found clear links between strong governance practices and improved financial performance, regulatory compliance and better service delivery.
Addressing concerns about failed network top-ups, Maida revealed that a joint NCC-CBN task force had developed a new framework to standardise electronic recharge processes. He added that Tier-1 audit firms had been engaged to review operators’ billing systems following consumer complaints about data depletion.
“The findings showed no systemic manipulation of consumer data,” he said. “Rather, issues were traced to background app activity and unoptimised device settings.”
He stressed that all of the commission’s initiatives are designed to strengthen a more transparent, consumer-centred telecom ecosystem. “We are not out to punish anyone. Our goal is for the industry to grow, for consumers to be satisfied, for operators to perform better, and for the government to benefit from a stronger tax base,” he said.
The NCC boss expressed confidence in the sector’s potential and reiterated the commission’s commitment to a collaborative and forward-looking regulatory model.
Also speaking, the Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Freda Bruce-Bennett, offered Nigerians practical tips on managing data usage more effectively, such as turning off autoplay on social media apps and limiting background data consumption.
The Director of Public Affairs, Mrs Nnenna Ukoha, described the media as critical partners in engaging the public. “You are the ones who convey our policies to Nigerians,” she said, inviting journalists to engage openly with the commission in order to strengthen collaboration.