The House of Representatives has instructed its Committee on Communications to probe the activities of private internet service providers in Nigeria.
The move for the probe follows the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopamuro Federal Constituency, Kogi State, Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), during Thursday’s plenary.
Abejide said a lot of internet service providers in Nigeria have managed to evade accountability for their widespread inefficiency, feeble and inferior service delivery.
He stated that consumers are compelled to persistently pay for inadequate services due to the apparent absence of regulations governing their pricing and service provision, leading to exploitation.
The lawmaker explained that frequent service outages, slow speeds, and inconsistent connectivity are widespread issues faced daily by consumers, adding that in this digital age, efficient internet connection is a necessity, not a luxury.
“The House is concerned that consumers sometimes experience service outages for more than an aggregate of two weeks in a single month from some ISPs, with no mechanism for refunding subscription fees, thus perpetuating a disregard for consumer rights and leading to exploitation,” he said.
“The House is also concerned that Legend, an ISP operating in Abuja, charges its subscribers a flat monthly prepaid rate despite knowing that its services are frequently interrupted.
“This company (Legend) offers various tariff rates, with the highest being approximately N483.000, per month, yet it rarely delivers uninterrupted service for even half of the month.
“The House is further concerned that Legend deliberately provides reliable internet service only a few days preceding monthly billing, deceiving customers into renewing subscriptions under the false impression of satisfactory performance, before immediately reverting to its persistently inadequate service levels.
“This is an unethical business model of exploitation of consumers that requires accountability to regulators.”
With the adoption of the motion, the House mandated its Committee on Communications to investigate the activities of ISPs and report back to the House within two weeks.
