NEWS
Reps Threaten Arrest of MTN, Airtel, Glo CEOs Over Poor Network Quality
Reps Threaten Arrest of MTN, Airtel, Glo CEOs Over Poor Network Quality
House committee orders telecom operators’ chief executives to appear on October 28.
NCC directed to ensure compliance as lawmakers threaten arrest for failure to attend.
Summons follows concerns over declining service quality and missed legislative invitations.
October 22, () – The House of Representatives has threatened to seek the arrest of chief executives of major telecommunications companies over their failure to honour legislative invitations and persistent complaints about poor network quality.
The lawmakers directed the chief executives of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, MAFAB Communications and other operators to appear before an ad hoc committee on October 28 at the National Assembly Complex.
The committee also directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure the operators attend the session and submit the requested documents. It warned that executives who fail to comply could face arrest.
The directive followed the absence of some telecom executives from earlier invitations issued by the committee to investigate service quality across the sector.
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Moving the motion, a member of the House, Sunday Umeha, representing Enugu State, alongside Afam Ogene of Anambra State, called for the operators to account for the state of their networks and their response to the lawmakers’ inquiries.
Committee chairman Olumide Osoba said declining service quality had become a growing concern, particularly because businesses and essential services increasingly depend on reliable telecommunications infrastructure.
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He cited the dependence of point-of-sale transactions on telecom networks, noting that poor connectivity disrupts commercial activity and affects consumers.
Osoba also criticised the operators’ handling of previous invitations, alleging that some companies sent junior representatives or offered excuses instead of ensuring their chief executives appeared before the committee.
Another lawmaker, Ibe Osonwa, representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency in Abia State, faulted the companies for failing to honour the invitations.
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The summons comes amid continuing complaints about dropped calls, slow data speeds and unreliable connectivity in parts of the country.
In October 2025, the NCC attributed poor service in some urban areas, including Lagos and Abuja, partly to inadequate network capacity in densely populated locations.
The regulator also began a compensation framework in April 2026 for subscribers affected when operators fail to meet prescribed quality-of-service standards.
The intervention followed concerns about the impact of poor service on consumers, businesses and digital transactions.
The sector has also recorded substantial infrastructure spending. Reports in May 2026 put combined investments by telecommunications operators and tower companies at about N2.5tn in 2025, with more than 2,800 sites added or upgraded during the year.
However, the investment figures have not eliminated concerns about service reliability, raising questions about network capacity, infrastructure deployment and the effectiveness of regulatory enforcement.
The October 28 session is expected to allow lawmakers to question the operators on service failures, their investments and the measures being taken to improve connectivity.
The committee’s threat of arrest places the operators under pressure to comply with the summons.
Their explanations and any documents submitted to the House could help establish the causes of persistent service problems and the steps required to address them.
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