NCC boss insists telcos observe KPIs, satisfy consumers

Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has charged the staff of South East Zonal Office of the Commission to ensure that telecom operators observe the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in order to achieve a good quality of service.

Danbatta made this remark during his visit which coincided with the working visits to the South East Zone by the other two Executive Commissioners of the Commission – Engr. Ubale Maska (Executive Commissioner, Technical Services); and Mr, Sunday Dare (Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management), both of who were at the Zonal Office in Enugu to receive the EVC.

Danbatta was full of praises for the staff for their hard work and dedication to duty and informed the Commission’s staff at Enugu that 2017 is the year of the consumer and implored them to intensify the sensitization campaign on the Commission’s initiatives and programmes designed to ensure that the telecom consumer derives concrete benefits from subscription to telecommunications services.

Danbatta noted that telecom consumers need to take advantage of the toll-free line 622 to lodge complaints about services rendered by the operators; and to also activate the ‘Do Not Disturb’ (DND) Code, 2442, to tame the instances of unsolicited messages and calls they receive from telemarketers.

He lamented the fact that very small percentage of subscribers has so far activated the DND Code.

He remained the staff that the Board and Management of the Commission were mindful of the circumstances of telecoms operations in Nigeria, including challenges of electricity, vandalism and arbitrary charges, among others, and recounted the measures already taken to ameliorate the situation which include signing of MOUs with state governors to mitigate the excruciating conditions telcos face in the deployment of services across the country.

He also informed the staff that “Empowering Consumers; and Improving Quality of Service” were very central items in the 8-Point Agenda which he unveiled as the focus of management under his leadership on assumption of office, adding that management was committed to fulfilling the agenda.

“Very soon, we will unveil a plan to give a concrete expression to our declaration of the Year 2017 as the Year of the Consumer,” Danbatta said.

He urged the staff to brace up for more work because the South East zone will soon witness deployment of fibre infrastructure as part of the implementation of the National Broadband Plan.

The Commission, he said, has achieved 21 percent broadband deployment and promised that the Commission will ensure that it achieves 30 percent broadband coverage by 2018 as stipulated in the National Broadband Plan.

In his remarks, Mr Lawrence Abang, Zonal Controller, South East Zonal Office, thanked the EVC for the visit to Enugu and South East, adding that the staff in the Zonal Office were gratified by his visit and promised to work even better.