House investigates spectrum auctioning by NCC
The House of Representatives, on Thursday, mandated its Committee on Telecommunications to investigate the proposed auctioning of 2.6GHz spectrum by the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC).
Passing a resolution following the adoption of the motion sponsored by Rep. Diri Douye (PDP- Bayelsa), the House said that the proposed auctioning of the 2. 6 GHz spectrum would lead to a large-scale job loss in the telecommunications industry.
Moving the motion, Douye expressed concern that the fundamental rights of the current licence holders were not taken into account when the bid by MTN was being considered, adding that while the auctioning may be necessary to meet up with the digital compliance, there was also a need to build confidence in all stakeholders.
The law-maker further declared that the NCC, the regulator of the telecommunication sector, may not have considered the long term effects of job losses.
“If the regulator fails to carry the entire process through without taking cognisance of current spectrum operators and their interest, it will result in the loss of billions of Naira to the investors.
“It will also jeopardize the interest of banks and result in the loss of thousands of jobs”, he said.
According to him, employment generation and protection of business was a key component of the legislative agenda of the eight assembly.
The motion was referred to the relevant committee with a mandate to investigate and resolve all pending issues connected with the proposed spectrum auctioning.
