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By Chinenye Anuforo
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that 75 million telecom subscribers have received airtime compensation for poor service in 2026, while nearly three million others have received refunds for failed airtime and data purchases.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos at the 95th edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament, where he reiterated the regulator’s commitment to holding telecommunications operators accountable for service failures and protecting consumers’ rights.
Maida, who spoke on the theme, ‘Enhancing Consumer Experience: Strengthening Service Quality and Consumer Protection in Nigeria’s Digital Economy,’ said the Commission was intensifying efforts to improve network performance, simplify tariffs and ensure consumers receive appropriate remedies when services fall short of expectations.
He said the compensation and refund figures reflected ongoing regulatory interventions, but stressed that preventing service failures remained more important than compensating subscribers after they had suffered inconvenience.
“Compensation matters, but it cannot recover a lost business opportunity or an important conversation that could not take place, so our priority remains reducing the failures that make it necessary,” he said.
According to him, the Commission’s records showed that more than 6,500 network interventions had been carried out so far in 2026, including upgrades to newer technologies and additional capacity in areas experiencing increased network demand.
He said the interventions were intended to improve call reliability and internet connectivity, adding that the NCC continued to monitor operators’ performance and require corrective action where service standards were not met.
The NCC boss said operators must also provide clear information to customers during major network outages, including what had happened and when services were expected to be restored.
He identified vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure and damage to fibre-optic cables during road construction as some of the factors disrupting services across communities.
Maida said the Commission was working with relevant authorities and operators to protect critical infrastructure, while urging communities to report suspected vandalism and damage to the appropriate authorities.
On consumer billing and data consumption, the EVC said the NCC’s tariff simplification measures were designed to ensure subscribers understood the price, data allowance and validity period of bundles before making purchases.
He also announced that a usage notification guideline was forthcoming to provide consumers with clearer information about daily data consumption, remaining balances and more detailed breakdowns of their usage.
The initiative, he said, would help subscribers monitor their data consumption and challenge discrepancies, while operators would be expected to investigate disputed usage fairly and explain their findings.
Addressing failed airtime and data transactions, Maida said the NCC had worked with the Central Bank of Nigeria, telecommunications operators and financial service providers to establish a framework for tracing transactions and ensuring timely refunds.
The framework is intended to prevent consumers whose accounts have been debited without receiving the services purchased from being passed between banks and network operators without resolution.
He further highlighted the Telecommunications Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS), which he said was designed to address risks associated with recycled phone numbers and numbers linked to fraud.
According to him, the Commission intends to extend the system’s use across sectors where phone numbers serve as identifiers for customers and transactions, building on its collaboration with the CBN.
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He said the system could help organisations identify recycled numbers and numbers flagged for fraud, thereby reducing the risk of unauthorised access to individuals’ accounts and services.
The NCC also urged Nigerians to verify mobile devices before purchasing them, warning that counterfeit and substandard phones, batteries and chargers could pose financial and safety risks.
Maida advised consumers to dial *315# and follow the prompts, or call 315 for assistance, to check a device’s approval and verification status before paying for it.
He further advised subscribers experiencing service problems to first lodge complaints with their service providers and obtain complaint reference numbers.
Where such complaints remain unresolved, he urged consumers to escalate them to the NCC through its toll-free line, 622.
Earlier, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management at the NCC, Rimini Makama, said the Telecom Consumer Parliament was designed to address recurring concerns around network quality, unclear billing, failed transactions and delays in resolving complaints.
Makama said the forum was expected to produce practical commitments, clear responsibilities and actions that consumers would be able to notice in their everyday use of telecommunications services.
She emphasised that reliable connectivity, transparent billing and accessible complaint-resolution channels were essential to building consumer confidence as Nigeria’s digital economy expanded.
In a lead paper presented at the event, the Executive Director of the Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF), Prof Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, said the growth of Nigeria’s telecommunications market should not be judged by subscription figures alone, but by the quality of service consumers actually receive.
Citing NCC industry statistics for August 2026, Ndukwe-Okafor said Nigeria had 197.4 million active telephony subscriptions and 158.5 million internet subscriptions.
She noted, however, that subscriptions did not necessarily represent individual users and that the figures could not, on their own, establish whether consumers enjoyed reliable connectivity, transparent billing or effective complaint resolution.
The consumer advocate called for more detailed, publicly accessible information on network performance, billing disputes, failed transactions and complaint-resolution outcomes.
She proposed the establishment of a public action register to track commitments made at the Telecom Consumer Parliament, including the institutions responsible, implementation deadlines and progress updates.
The paper also recommended standardised, plain-language information on tariffs and data bundles, improved tracking of failed transactions across banks and telecom operators, and more accessible complaint channels for older persons and people with disabilities.
It proposed that the NCC publish an initial consumer-experience progress scorecard within six months, alongside measures to improve reporting on service quality, refunds and complaint outcomes.
Ndukwe-Okafor said consumer protection should be assessed by whether problems were genuinely resolved and remedies delivered, rather than simply by the number of complaints closed.
The 95th Telecom Consumer Parliament brought together the regulator, service providers, consumer advocacy groups and other stakeholders to examine ways of improving telecommunications services and strengthening consumer protection in Nigeria’s digital economy.
