The House of Representatives has ordered the issuance of arrest summons for chief executives of telecommunications companies who failed to honour its invitation to appear before a committee investigating the quality of services in the sector.
The lawmakers took the decision on Wednesday after rejecting Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), whom the companies sent to represent them.
The ad hoc committee, chaired by Olumide Osoba (APC, Ogun), directed the chief executives and other top management officials of licensed telecommunications operators to appear before it on November 4, 2026.
However, rather than appear personally, the companies sent Adebayo, a move that angered the lawmakers, who insisted that each operator must answer individually to the House.
Moving the motion, Sunday Umeha argued that each telecommunications company held a separate licence issued by the Federal Government and could not rely on its membership of an industry association to avoid the invitation.
Umeha also criticised a letter from ALTON which, according to him, challenged the committee’s authority to compel the companies to appear.
Supporting the committee’s position, House spokesperson, Akin Rotimi Jr., faulted ALTON’s decision to speak on behalf of the operators, arguing that telecommunications subscribers dealt directly with individual service providers.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced a review of competition in the telecommunications industry to identify barriers to effective competition and determine appropriate regulatory measures to protect market conditions.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the study would provide an evidence-based assessment of competition across relevant telecommunications markets.
Maida, who was represented by the Head of the Commission’s Competition and Tariff Department, Omotayo Mohammed, spoke at the second stakeholder forum on the study of competition in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, where preliminary findings were presented for stakeholders’ review.
He said the assessment would examine market concentration, barriers to entry and expansion, control of essential infrastructure, market conduct, consumer choice and the identification of operators with Significant Market Power (SMP).
According to him, the study is intended to support the Commission in discharging its statutory responsibilities under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and the Competition Practices Regulations 2007.
Maida explained that the preliminary findings were largely based on responses to surveys and requests for information circulated to licensees and other relevant stakeholders.
He, however, noted that the reliability of the assessment would depend on the completeness, accuracy and consistency of the data collected.
He added that limitations in the available information would be identified and the findings interpreted with caution.