The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has brushed aside, allegations that some of its officials were bribed in the negotiation and ongoing settlement of the N330Billion fine the agency slammed on GSM network provider, MTN Nigeria.
Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Abdullahi Maikano, debunked the claims in Effurun, Uvwien Council Area of Delta state where the telecoms regulator held its 22nd Consumer Town Hall Meeting yesterday.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Femi Atoyebi on the occasion, Maikano said “no NCC official was bribed. I repeat, nobody bribed any NCC official on that MTN fine issue, quote me. NCC is a very responsible organization under quality leadership which cascades down to the least of staff.
Continuing, he stated that “No NCC staff will ever take bribe. Challenge me if you see one. That allegation is not true. You read in the papers what MTN has done, they have paid some amount and they are to pay the rest by installments. So, that case is actually settled.”
Maikano noted that the continued town hall meetings to bridge and bring telecoms consumers with operators and the regulator are providing gainful results in gradually resolving the complaints by users.
“It’s not true that NCC has not been doing anything about complaints. The town hall meetings are not jamborees. Everything going on here is being recorded and we will play it to review activities. We do a comprehensive report and make recommendations on every outing to management.
“Some of the policies you see being rolled out by NCC emanate from reports from meetings like these. The consumers are the target beneficiaries of all our activities which make them enjoy primary focus in ensuring that they get quality of service, value for money and timely and fair redress of complaints.”
