Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned telecommunication providers in the country to improve the quality of their networks and stop extorting Nigerian consumers.

The regulatory agency said the body was aware of the challenges Nigerians were facing in the telecoms sector, warning  that the body would impose stiffer sanctions against  operators  cheating the system through poor network quality and arbitrary  charges.

NCC Director in charge of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano, made the remarks  in Oye-Ekiti at the weekend during a Consumer Town  Hall meeting where issues bordering on ‘Information and Education as a Catalyst for Consumer Protection’ were discussed and which representatives of MTN, GLO, AIRTEL and ETISALAT, security agencies as well as consumers, including farmers, civil servants , market men and women and others  from various sectors of the economy attended.

Maikano  said : “We have to protect consumers from market exploitation and empower them to make rational and informed decision on choices of services.”

Some consumers, including Mrs Beatrice Ige and the Iyaloja of Oye Ekiti, Chief (Mrs) O. Adegboyega charged NCC to always impose sanctions against service providers engaging in extortion. They said sharp practices were becoming  endemic among telecom  operators.

Representatives of telecom  providers  assured Nigerians of quality service delivery in the year.

Daily Trust