The telecoms regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has technically begun stress test to weigh and ascertain the liquidity status of mega telecoms to avoid the repeat of the 9Mobile experience, formally Etisalat Nigeria.
Though the board chairman of the Commission, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, had during the initial stage of Etisalat crisis hinted on the test, the Executive Commissioner in charge of stakeholders, Mr. Sunday Dare, disclosed the takeoff of the assessment in Lagos, saying the NCC embarked on the exercise to find out the credit and debt profile of all telecoms companies in the country to avert future financial crisis that could lead to the closure or takeover of any telecoms.
According to him, “We have a strong team of financial experts and auditors who are looking into the books of critical operators. In a month or two, the NCC will know the financial health of these operators”.
“The whole idea of the financial health is to ensure that the NCC does not get into tight corners again with any financial institution. “The NCC executive commissioner berated the operators for poor services, saying the health check exercise would include checks on drop calls and unsolicited messages.
“We know the services they provide are wishy-washy, yet they are making money. We know they have drop calls, but we want to know the amount of drop calls and see how the trend can be reversed.
Dare added that “We want to know the cities with the highest number of drop calls and ascertain why such has continued, and then seek ways to urgently redress the factors necessitating such unpleasant services”.
