By Anita Dennis
For many Nigerians, dropped calls, slow data, and vanishing airtime are not just minor annoyances, they are daily frustrations that shape how people work, trade, study, and connect. Relief may be on the way, as the federal government and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are preparing sweeping changes that could make telecoms companies more accountable to the public than ever before.
At a recent media engagement in Abuja, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, revealed that the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy has begun reviewing Nigeria’s 2000 National Telecoms Policy, the document that set the stage for the GSM revolution nearly a quarter of a century ago. The update, he explained, is necessary to reflect new realities of digital life in 2025.
“Since the National Telecom Policy 2000, we have started engagements with the ministry to revise the telecom policy,” Dr. Maida said. “As per the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003, our role is to guide and provide input, while the ministry drives the policy. That process has started, and it is in line with the strategic blueprint of Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Honourable Minister.”
Holding operators to public scorecards
Beyond policy, the NCC is also moving to name, rank, and publish performance reports of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on a quarterly basis. For the first time, Nigerians will be able to see how their service providers stack up- state by state, across different metrics such as call quality, data speed, and regulatory compliance.
“We need to let Nigerians know who is first, second, and third,” Dr. Maida noted pointedly. “The person who came last will be in trouble with his board. Or it will be an opportunity for him to tell his board, ‘I need that investment you have been denying me.’ ”
This competitive transparency, he explained, is designed to push operators to invest more in infrastructure, improve services, and be more accountable to customers and shareholders alike.
By the end of August or early September, the NCC plans to launch a public performance map based on anonymised data generated directly from consumer devices. This means every Nigerian using a phone is indirectly contributing to the real-time quality checks.
Governance and transparency
Dr. Maida stressed that corporate governance – how well operators are run – will be factored into performance assessments. According to him, companies that excel in financial health, regulatory compliance, and service delivery tend also to score better on governance.
“Corporate governance is a very strong tool for us to use as part of our transparency approach to the industry,” he said.
The NCC has already revised its Quality-of-Service Guidelines to ensure not only mobile operators but also Tower Companies (TowerCos), the firms that supply infrastructure, power, and security, are held accountable.
Beyond the numbers: teaching consumers too
The commission is also focusing on the consumer end. At the media forum, the NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Freda Bruce-Bennett, gave practical tips to help Nigerians manage their data, such as turning off video autoplay on social media apps and limiting background data use.
And for journalists who cover the telecoms beat, the commission’s Head of Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnena Ukoha, said that the engagement was designed to deepen relationships and improve reporting accuracy as the industry undergoes a new era of scrutiny.
