By Mercy Aikoye
The House of Representatives has threatened further sanctions against telecommunications operators for repeatedly failing to honour legislative summons over persistent poor service delivery, warning that regulatory oversight by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) does not shield them from constitutional accountability.
The warning followed a heated session of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Telecommunications Service Quality in Abuja on Wednesday, where lawmakers ordered representatives of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) out of the meeting after chief executives of major telecom companies failed to appear.
The committee had summoned the chief executives of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, T2 Mobile and other licensed operators to explain worsening network quality, unreliable internet connectivity and frequent service disruptions affecting millions of subscribers.
However, instead of the executives appearing individually, ALTON representatives, including officials from the affected companies, attended the meeting, claiming they were representing the association and its members.
The representatives told lawmakers that the operators had instituted legal proceedings challenging the summons but attended the meeting out of respect for the National Assembly.
The committee rejected the explanation, insisting that its invitations were directed at individual operators, each of which held a separate licence and bore independent responsibility for its services and obligations to consumers.
The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Olumide Osoba (APC, Ogun), represented by Rep. Sunday Umeha, who presided over the meeting, questioned whether any court order had restrained the committee from proceeding with its investigation.
Following a heated exchange, Umeha directed the ALTON representatives to leave, warning that any further unauthorised appearance could attract detention.
“You are not invited. You are an intruder. This will be the last warning. On no account, except you are invited, should ALTON, under any guise whatsoever, appear before this committee again,” he said.
The committee subsequently continued its proceedings in an executive session with officials of the NCC, who remained after the ALTON representatives were asked to leave.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Osoba said the investigation was driven by growing public complaints about dropped calls, disappearing data subscriptions, poor internet connectivity and unreliable telecommunications services.
He said the failures were imposing significant costs on businesses, particularly small and medium-scale enterprises that depend on network connectivity for electronic payments through Point of Sale terminals and other digital platforms.
Osoba also raised concerns about the implications of poor network quality for the 2027 general elections, warning that unreliable telecommunications infrastructure could undermine confidence in technology-dependent electoral processes.
“If at the moment the network is in the state it is now, then what becomes the fate and confidence of Nigerians when the general election comes?” he asked.
The lawmaker defended the House’s authority to summon operators, citing Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which empower the National Assembly to investigate matters within its legislative competence and scrutinise the implementation of laws.
He argued that the NCC’s regulatory responsibilities did not exempt telecommunications companies from legislative oversight, noting that the Nigerian Communications Act establishing the commission was enacted by the National Assembly.
“The law under which NCC operates was made by the National Assembly. We enacted that law and gave the agency the power to issue licences. We also have the power of oversight on the agency,” he said.
Osoba said the committee would continue its investigation and adjourned proceedings until Wednesday next week, when the affected operators’ chief executives are expected to appear personally.
He warned that the House would invoke its constitutional powers and take further enforcement measures if the executives continued to disregard its summons.
