The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said it is partnering with the office of National Security Adviser and other relevant stakeholders to eradicate the menace of fake and substandard telecommunications devices been circulated in the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta stated this in commemoration of the 2021 World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) held on Monday, March 15, in Abuja.
Speaking at the event, Danbatta said, “The Commission, worried by the recurrent cycle of fraudulent deployment of fake and substandard mobile devices – usually made of iron and plastic components, collaborated with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other relevant government agencies to inaugurate a committee to implement Mobile Devices Management Systems (DMS).
“This initiative is designed as a Public-Private Partnership aimed at combating the proliferation of fake, counterfeit, substandard and cloned communication devices in the telecommunications industry. The expected result of this initiative is that, only genuine materials malleable to enduring usage are available for consumer use.
“The Commission also implemented a strict type-approval process that ensures all equipment used in the telecommunications industry are of a suitable standard, both for the good of the consumers and for the preservation of our environment.
“This coincidental connection between the 2021 theme for World Consumer Rights Day, ‘Tackling Plastic Pollution’, and the proactive initiatives of the Commission towards protecting the environment as well as efforts on tackling electronic waste in Nigeria tells the story of a shared vision for a satisfied consumer”.
The NCC Boss added that the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 enjoins the Commission to protect the interest of the consumers, which according to him, the Commission has done religiously, through subsidiary legislations, guidelines and directions that proactively address consumer concerns and stipulate responsibilities of all stakeholders.
“We had made declarations to curtail excesses of some operators and to expand the frontiers of freedom for the consumers. Warnings had been handed out and fines have been imposed on erring operators. Determinations have also been made by the Commission to ensure consumers are neither shortchanged nor denied their privileges and rights.
“The NCC demonstrated the foregoing to reveal the extent it could go to defend and protect the interests of telecom consumers; and to successively restate its commitment to its ethos of fairness, firmness and forthrightness – the doctrinal tripod of its regulatory mandate”.
He said, the Commission has ensured full compliance with Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards registration guidelines by the service providers and telecom consumers, and that this is to ensure proper registration to stop the use of improperly-registered SIMs, which usage is difficult to track.