Report date: Friday, 23 October 2026
Report preparation time: 08:46 WAT (UTC+1)
Story location: National Assembly Complex, Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has given chief executives of major telecommunications companies seven days to appear before lawmakers and explain persistent poor network services, intensifying scrutiny of a sector that supports millions of daily calls, internet connections, financial transactions and business operations.
The House Ad Hoc Committee investigating telecommunications service quality issued the directive at a public hearing in Abuja on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. It ordered the chief executives of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom (Glo), Mafab Communications and other affected operators to attend a follow-up hearing on Wednesday, October 28, at 2:00 p.m. WAT in Hearing Room 447 of the New Building of the National Assembly Complex, Abuja. [Sources: Voice of Nigeria; Premium Times]
The committee also directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that the companies comply with the summons and submit relevant documents before the hearing. Lawmakers warned that executives who fail to appear could face a summons for arrest to compel their attendance. The directive followed complaints that some invited operators, including MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications, had failed to honour previous invitations. [Sources: The Guardian Nigeria; PUNCH]
The investigation comes amid continuing public complaints about dropped calls, slow mobile internet, inconsistent network coverage, unsuccessful airtime and data purchases, and disruptions to digital transactions. On October 20, NCC Executive Vice-Chairman Aminu Maida reported that 75 million subscribers had received airtime compensation for poor service in 2026, nearly three million subscribers had received refunds for failed airtime and data purchases, and the commission had recorded more than 6,500 network interventions. [Sources: The Guardian Nigeria; Voice of Nigeria]
Those figures underline the scale of regulatory activity surrounding telecommunications services, but they also highlight an important distinction: compensating affected subscribers and carrying out network interventions do not, on their own, prove that service quality has improved sufficiently. The lawmakers now want company executives to explain the continuing problems, identify operational constraints and set out what their organisations are doing to improve performance.
Why lawmakers summoned the telecom executives
The committee's decision followed the adoption of two motions sponsored by members of the House, Sunday Umeha and Afam Ogene. During the October 21 hearing, lawmakers expressed displeasure that some companies had not responded satisfactorily to earlier invitations. They objected to executives being absent or companies sending lower-ranking representatives instead of the chief executives who could answer questions about company-wide operations and commitments. [Source: Voice of Nigeria]
Committee chairman Olumide Osoba said telecommunications services had become indispensable to Nigeria’s economy. He pointed to the role of reliable networks in business activities, financial transactions and point-of-sale operations, stressing that recurring service disruptions affect much more than the ability to make a telephone call. [Source: Premium Times]
The committee's focus on chief executives is intended to secure direct answers from those responsible for their companies' overall performance, investment choices and service commitments. Senior executives are expected to explain the challenges facing their networks, the resources being committed to address them and the time required to deliver measurable improvements.
The summons is not itself a finding that every operator has breached a specific service standard. It is part of a legislative inquiry into persistent complaints and the factors responsible for poor service. The operators will have an opportunity to provide explanations and supporting documents when they appear.
A complete assessment will require lawmakers to examine the evidence provided by the companies alongside information from the regulator, subscribers and other relevant sources. The inquiry may need to distinguish between problems caused by insufficient capacity, equipment failures, power supply, damaged infrastructure, congestion and other operational issues.
That distinction matters because the remedies differ. Congestion in a busy urban area may require additional network capacity, while a service outage caused by a severed fibre cable may require repairs and better coordination with road contractors. A problem involving failed airtime purchases may also require cooperation between telecom operators, banks and payment providers rather than a radio-access network upgrade alone.
The companies expected at the October 28 hearing
The committee has named MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and Mafab Communications among the operators expected to appear. The directive also covers other affected telecommunications service providers.
The companies will be expected to submit relevant documents before the hearing and explain the persistent decline in service quality. The NCC has been directed to ensure compliance with the committee’s instruction. [Source: The Guardian Nigeria]
The requirement for documents is important because a verbal explanation alone may not be enough to establish how a company is performing. Network-availability records, outage logs, capacity data, fault reports, complaint-resolution records and investment plans could help the committee investigate the causes of recurring problems, subject to relevance and any applicable confidentiality restrictions.
Different operators have different network footprints, technology configurations, coverage levels and user demand. A fair assessment should take those differences into account while requiring each company to meet the regulatory obligations that apply to it.
The committee will also need to consider how network quality is measured. Subscribers may experience different conditions within the same state, city or local government area. Service can vary depending on location, the time of day, network congestion, the handset being used and whether the customer is indoors or outdoors.
For that reason, an overall statement that a network is either good or poor may not adequately describe the experience of all customers. Reliable measurements should be location-specific and should distinguish between voice, mobile data and other service categories.
The October 28 session is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Hearing Room 447 of the National Assembly's New Building in Abuja. The committee’s next steps will depend partly on the evidence submitted and the explanations given by the companies. [Source: Voice of Nigeria]
Subscriber compensation has reached 75 million, says NCC
The parliamentary inquiry follows a consumer-protection update from the NCC on October 20.
Maida told participants at the commission's 95th Telecom Consumer Parliament in Lagos that 75 million subscribers had received airtime compensation for poor telecommunications service during 2026. He also said nearly three million subscribers had received refunds for failed airtime and data purchases, while the regulator had recorded more than 6,500 network interventions, including equipment upgrades and capacity expansion. [Sources: The Guardian Nigeria; TheCable]
The figures were presented by the regulator as evidence of action to address consumer complaints and improve service delivery. However, the commission also acknowledged that compensation cannot fully reverse the consequences of a service failure. A failed business payment, missed customer call or interrupted work session may cause losses that an airtime credit cannot restore.
That is one reason the regulator continues to require operators to address underlying network problems rather than treating compensation as the only remedy. The same principle applies to failed airtime and data purchases: refunding money is important, but preventing failures and resolving disputes promptly also matter.
The NCC's Consumer Compensation Framework applies when an operator fails to meet prescribed quality-of-service requirements in an affected local government area and the subscriber meets the relevant eligibility conditions. It is designed to provide direct airtime credits to qualifying users without requiring them to submit individual applications. [Source: NCC compensation framework]
Under the published rules, eligible subscribers must have experienced poor network service in a designated affected area and made at least one outgoing billed call, SMS or data session during the relevant period. Compensation is based on factors including the subscriber's billed usage and the operator's service performance in the affected area. [Source: NCC compensation framework]
The automatic approach is intended to reduce the burden on subscribers, who may not have the technical information needed to demonstrate network failure themselves. The regulator uses network-performance information to determine whether the relevant standards have been breached and which areas qualify for compensation.
Subscribers should nevertheless distinguish between compensation for a qualifying network-quality failure and a refund for a failed airtime or data purchase. They are separate processes with different triggers and purposes.
What the 6,500 network interventions mean
The NCC's reported 6,500 network interventions cover actions undertaken during 2026 to improve or restore service, including equipment upgrades and capacity expansion. Maida said operators had been adding sites, upgrading equipment and increasing capacity in locations where demand had grown. [Source: The Guardian Nigeria]
An intervention can address a particular fault or improve the ability of a network to serve customers. The type of work required depends on the cause of the problem. A site may need equipment replacement, additional capacity or repairs; in another location, the issue may involve power supply or a damaged link connecting the site to the wider network.
The number of interventions is therefore an activity measure, not a direct measure of how many subscribers have experienced better service. Some interventions may restore an outage, while others may increase capacity or address recurring faults. To judge the overall result, the regulator needs performance information showing whether service levels improved afterwards.
The inquiry could examine how the operators select locations for upgrades, how they prioritise heavily congested sites and how they verify that completed work produces the expected improvements. It could also ask what timeframes are realistic for addressing the most persistent service problems.
For subscribers, the practical measure is whether calls connect reliably, data services meet reasonable performance levels and network outages become less frequent or shorter. Reporting should help consumers understand whether those conditions are improving in their locations.
The role of fibre-optic infrastructure
Mobile networks rely on a mix of radio access, transmission links, power systems and other supporting infrastructure. Fibre-optic cables carry large volumes of digital information between sites and core networks, making them important to the operation of mobile and fixed broadband services.
Damage to fibre infrastructure can interrupt service well beyond the immediate location where a cable is cut. If an affected link carries traffic for several sites or connects a region to a larger network, the disruption can spread across communities.
The NCC said in August that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents had been recorded in the first six months of 2026, with road construction, excavation and related civil works identified as major causes. It said inadequate coordination among contractors, government agencies and telecommunications operators before excavation was a recurring problem. [Source: NCC official statement]
The commission has called for stronger coordination before, during and after relevant road and civil works. The damage can affect banking, healthcare, education, commerce, government services and emergency communication because those activities increasingly depend on reliable digital networks. [Source: NCC official statement]
Fibre cuts are not the only cause of poor network quality, and not every service failure should be attributed to physical infrastructure damage. But protecting cable routes and improving information-sharing between road contractors and network operators could help prevent avoidable disruptions.
The parliamentary committee may need to establish how operators differentiate between failures within their control and disruptions caused by outside events, while ensuring that such explanations are supported by evidence. The NCC's compensation rules recognise that certain exceptional events, including fibre cuts, theft, vandalism and natural disasters, may require a case-specific review when determining compensation. [Source: NCC compensation framework]
How poor network quality affects businesses
Reliable telecommunications services are essential to many Nigerian businesses. Retailers use mobile connections for electronic payments, online orders and communication with customers. Logistics businesses rely on connectivity to coordinate deliveries, while professional services and remote workers often need stable internet access to carry out everyday tasks.
For small businesses, repeated disruptions can create operational problems even when each individual outage appears brief. A failed payment can delay a sale, a dropped call can interrupt a customer interaction, and unreliable data can delay the transmission of orders or documents.
Businesses that rely on cloud services, digital accounting systems or online marketplaces may face additional disruption when connections are slow or unavailable. The impact is particularly relevant for enterprises that have limited alternatives to mobile connectivity.
The effect is not limited to Lagos, Abuja or other major cities. Rural and peri-urban businesses can face their own challenges where coverage is weaker or where few alternative providers are available. In such locations, a single network failure may leave customers with limited options for connecting to essential services.
This is why the House committee has framed telecommunications quality as an economic issue as well as a consumer concern. It affects the ability of businesses to operate, communicate, receive payments and serve customers consistently. [Source: Premium Times]
Why service quality varies by location
Telecommunications performance depends on several factors, and users on the same network may experience different conditions in different places.
Network congestion can occur where many people attempt to use the same network resources at the same time. In a busy district, a network may struggle to meet demand during peak periods even if it performs adequately in quieter hours.
The distance between a device and a cell site, the construction of buildings, terrain, weather-related damage to infrastructure and the quality of indoor coverage can also influence experience. Network technology and the capabilities of a user's device may affect the speeds and services available.
Operators must plan capacity around changing demand. As population and data use grow, they may need to add sites, upgrade radio equipment, improve backhaul links or deploy newer technologies. Those investments require time, suitable locations, reliable electricity and supporting infrastructure.
The NCC has said it monitors network performance, requires operators to address deficiencies and expects providers to explain major outages and indicate when services are expected to return. It has also published coverage maps that allow consumers to compare network performance using crowdsourced data. [Source: The Guardian Nigeria]
Those factors mean an effective inquiry should not rely solely on general claims about coverage or on individual reports from one location. It should compare performance data, subscriber complaints and records of the interventions carried out.
What the regulator is expected to do
The NCC is the regulator responsible for overseeing telecommunications operators in Nigeria. Its role includes monitoring service quality, enforcing applicable requirements and addressing consumer-protection issues.
For the October 28 hearing, lawmakers have directed the commission to ensure that the operators comply with the summons and submit the required documents. That places the regulator in a coordinating role in the parliamentary inquiry. [Source: Voice of Nigeria]
The commission will also need to continue its own regulatory work. A parliamentary hearing does not replace technical monitoring or the enforcement of existing quality-of-service rules. The committee may scrutinise broader patterns and ask companies to explain problems, while the NCC evaluates performance against the standards it administers.
The commission's existing compensation framework allows eligible customers to receive airtime credit when the required quality thresholds are not met in designated areas. Its rules also state that compensation does not prevent the regulator from imposing penalties in certain cases involving severe or repeated violations. [Source: NCC compensation framework]
That distinction matters because consumer redress and regulatory enforcement serve different purposes. Compensation offers a remedy to affected subscribers, while regulatory action can address a company's failure to meet its obligations.
The regulator must also ensure that complaints are processed fairly, network data are reliable and operators have a clear understanding of the standards against which they are assessed.
What subscribers can do when their network fails
The public inquiry does not remove the practical steps available to subscribers who experience poor service or failed transactions.
For a network-quality complaint, customers can first contact their service provider and request a reference number. The reference may help track the issue and document the operator's response. The NCC has advised subscribers to use the provider's complaints channel before escalating unresolved problems to the regulator. [Source: The Guardian Nigeria]
Where an issue remains unresolved, the NCC says consumers can contact the commission through its toll-free line, 622. The commission also provides consumer information and publishes details about the areas approved for network-quality compensation. [Sources: NCC official website; NCC compensation framework]
Subscribers should keep relevant records, including the date and location of a recurring problem, whether the failure affected voice calls or data, and any reference numbers issued by the operator. For a failed airtime or data purchase, transaction details and evidence of the debit may help the relevant service providers trace what happened.
Consumers should not assume that every brief interruption automatically qualifies for compensation. The NCC's framework applies when the specified service-quality conditions are met and the operator's performance falls below the prescribed thresholds in the affected area. [Source: NCC compensation framework]
The regulator says qualifying compensation is automatic and does not require a subscriber to submit an individual application. Eligible customers should receive a notification when airtime credit has been applied, including the amount and reason for the credit. [Source: NCC compensation framework]
What a meaningful outcome from the hearing would look like
The October 28 hearing could produce explanations from operators about the causes of network problems and the actions being taken to address them. Its value will depend on whether those explanations are specific, supported by evidence and followed by measurable commitments.
A useful outcome would identify the most common causes of service failures, distinguish problems affecting particular areas from nationwide issues and clarify which improvements are already underway. It could also establish timelines for particular actions and require operators to report on progress.
The committee may need to examine investment plans as well as immediate fault responses. Adding capacity in a heavily congested area may take longer than repairing a failed component, while protecting fibre routes requires cooperation with road contractors and relevant government authorities.
The hearing could also clarify how consumer complaints are handled, how operators monitor recurring faults and how customers are informed about major outages. Better communication may not prevent every technical problem, but it can help users understand what is happening and when service may return.
Lawmakers have warned that executives who fail to appear could be subjected to a summons for arrest to compel attendance. The immediate next step is therefore to establish whether the named companies appear as directed, provide the requested documentation and answer the committee's questions. [Sources: PUNCH; Voice of Nigeria]
Any conclusions after the hearing should be based on the evidence provided and the steps the committee formally decides to take. The October 21 directive itself does not establish that the companies have already been found in breach of a particular regulation.
Beyond the hearing: restoring confidence in telecommunications
Nigeria's digital economy depends on reliable mobile and internet services. Government transactions, electronic payments, online education, healthcare communication and everyday business increasingly depend on connectivity.
Improving service quality therefore requires a combination of regulation, private investment, infrastructure protection, technical maintenance and effective complaint handling. No single measure can resolve every cause of poor service.
Operators must maintain their networks, invest where demand exceeds capacity and provide clear information when outages occur. The regulator must monitor performance, enforce standards and ensure that consumer-protection mechanisms work as intended. Government agencies and contractors must coordinate their activities to avoid damaging critical fibre infrastructure.
Consumers also need practical routes to report problems and receive responses. Transparent information about coverage and service quality can help them compare providers and understand where limitations remain.
For lawmakers, the task is to scrutinise the sector without assuming that all failures have the same cause. A careful inquiry can identify where operators need to improve, what wider infrastructure barriers exist and which actions require coordinated decisions across government and industry.
Conclusion: operators face a deadline to explain persistent service failures
The House of Representatives' seven-day ultimatum has placed Nigeria's major telecommunications operators under renewed scrutiny over persistent complaints about network quality.
MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, Mafab Communications and other affected providers are expected to appear before the House Ad Hoc Committee on Wednesday, October 28, at 2:00 p.m. in Abuja. They must submit relevant documents and explain the operational challenges contributing to poor service. The lawmakers have warned that executives who fail to attend could face a summons for arrest.
The inquiry follows the NCC's report that 75 million subscribers received compensation for poor network service in 2026, nearly three million received refunds for failed airtime and data purchases, and more than 6,500 network interventions had been recorded. Those actions demonstrate the scale of work underway, but the regulator has also emphasised that compensation cannot recover opportunities lost when connectivity fails.
The next hearing will be an opportunity to establish what is causing persistent service problems, how operators are responding and what further measures may be needed. Its value should be assessed through evidence, clear commitments and subsequent improvements in the places where subscribers experience repeated failures.
For customers, the immediate concern remains reliable calls, dependable internet and transactions that complete successfully. For businesses, consistent connectivity is an operating requirement. For the regulator and lawmakers, the challenge is to ensure that investment and enforcement translate into better everyday service.
The outcome will become clearer after the companies appear and the committee explains any further action. Until then, the summons represents an investigation and demand for accountability, not a final finding against every operator.
Reporting note: Prepared Friday, 23 October 2026, at 08:46 WAT. The public hearing that issued the summons took place on October 21. The companies' explanations and any subsequent committee findings had not yet been reported at the time of preparation.
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