By Chinedu Adonu

Enugu – The Enugu State House of Assembly has resolved to summon major telecommunications operators—MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile—to explain how they intend to compensate customers who have suffered financial losses due to persistent drop calls.

The decision followed a motion moved on Tuesday during plenary by Hon. Harrison Ogara, representing Igbo-Eze South State Constituency, who decried the exploitation of telecom consumers who are charged for services not rendered.

Ogara noted that over 219 million Nigerians, including residents of Enugu State, subscribe to telecom services but are subjected to consistent call disruptions and network failures. He expressed concern over the financial losses suffered by subscribers due to poor service quality.

He urged the House to summon the telecom operators to appear before the Assembly to justify why they should not be mandated to refund all affected subscribers in the state. Ogara also requested that the operators present accurate data on their subscribers in Enugu State, along with a detailed breakdown of users who lost funds due to call drops.

Furthermore, he called on the Assembly to demand evidence of tax compliance from the telecom providers and recommended that the Accountant General, Auditor General, Attorney General, and the House Committee on Information, Communication and Innovation collaborate to assess the financial losses incurred by residents due to inefficiencies in telecom services.

“The operators must be held accountable, and the outcome of the inquiry should be made public,” Ogara insisted. “All those who lost money due to the inefficiencies of the network providers must be refunded accordingly.”

In his remarks, Ogara stated: “Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, I rise to draw your attention to the current epileptic services of telecom providers in Enugu State, which have led to significant financial losses. Despite Nigeria’s rapid growth in the telecommunications sector, users in our state continue to suffer poor services.”

Other lawmakers who contributed to the debate supported Ogara’s motion. Hon. Malachy Onyechi of Nsukka West likened the situation to the activities of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), accusing both of delivering substandard services while overcharging consumers.

Similarly, Hon. Clifford One, representing Igbo-Eze North II, compared telecom inefficiencies to failed bank transactions where customers are debited without the transaction being completed.

In a related development, the Assembly also passed into law the Enugu State Land Use Charge (Second Amendment) Bill, House Bill 6, 2025, sponsored by Hon. Iloabuchi Aniagu (Nkanu West Constituency). To fast-track the process, the House suspended Order 14, Rule 102(1) of its Standing Orders.