Reps to probe NCC over N6.1b sim card registration
The House of Representatives has faulted the handling of the N6.2 billion Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) card registration by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).The money was appropriated for the project carried out between May 2010 and March, last year. NCC also proposed N1billion for the same project in the 2012 budget.
The legislators doubted the sincerity of the telecommunication regulatory body on the registration process, saying Nigerians may have been deceived.
The lawmakers are insisting that the NCC must explain how the money was spent. This is in addition to the resolution of the House, not to pass the 2012 NCC’s budget until satisfactory explanation on the utilisation of the fund is offered.
The Reps’ decision followed a motion by Abdulrahman Terab (ANPP, Borno), who observed that sim cards are being sold in street corners all over the country.
He said the sim card registration exercise was for security and control purposes, but regretted that the essence of the N6.1 billion project might end up being defeated if street sale of the cards continued.
"Criminals can take advantage of using registered sim cards to commit crimes that can lead to wrongful arrest of innocent citizens by security agencies. It is worrisome that unregulated use of mobile phones has been aiding robberies, kidnapping, advanced fee fraud (419), as well as terrorism."
Jerry Manwe (PDP, Taraba), said the NCC should be blamed for the situation, adding that "the inconsistency and acts of some people saddled with the responsibility, have resulted in the menace.
"They will come here, speak fine grammar and we will approve money for them only for them to do things differently from what they told us," he stated.
Also yesterday, the Senate mandated its committee on Communications to investigate the effectiveness of the services provided by GSM operators.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East) and 43 others entitled "Deteriorating services by Global System for Mobile Telecommunications (GSM) providers."
Most Senators who contributed to the motion, expressed anger over the poor service, saying it amounted to a rip off of Nigerians by the GSM operators.
The committee was also asked to investigate why co-habitation of towers is not being adhered to by operators.
Ashafa, in his lead debate, confirmed that advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is the bedrock of the globalised economy in the 21st Century.
He said the emergence of GSM in the country within the last 10 years brought a revolution of sort, not only in the employment of youths, but also ushered in veritable multiplier effects into the business and financial life of the country.
The lawmaker observed that despite all the licenses issued, subscribers are extremely disgruntled over the poor quality of services provided by the GSM/Telecom operators.
