By Dennis Agbo

ABAKALIKI—Telecommunication Consumers in the South east, yesterday, raised serious concerns about the inadequacies of the operators of Nigeria Telecommunication industry.

They decried issues of unsolicited phone calls, unsolicited messages, irregular charges among other operators inadequacies at the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) 79th Consumer Outreach Programme in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state.

But the telecom operators  told the consumers to avail the opportunities of their customer care centers and their social media fora to always make their complaints and receive quicker service attentions.

At the programme titled “Information and Education as a catalyst for Consumer protection,”  the Director, Consumer Outreach Programme (COP) in the NCC, Abdullahi Maikano said the commission has identified Consumer education as one of the most-effective mechanism that provides and guarantees consumer protection.

He stated therefore that to ensure that the Telecoms consumer is well Protected, Informed and Educated (PIE mandate), the commission has developed series of initiatives with the main goal of empowering consumers with appropriate information that will ensure that their rights are not only protected but their choices provide them with value for money.

He further stressed that the commission recognizes that the rights of every telecoms Consumer must be protected and one of the fundamental rights of the telecom consumer is the right to be informed and educated.

Ebonyi state Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe emphasized the role of Information Communication Technology in advancing the growth and development of Nigeria.

Igwe who represented the governor said the opportunities offered by. the new media if well harnessed can put the nation on a path to economic revitalization.

According to Igwe, “If the NCC as the ombudsman could properly regulate unsolicited text messages, ring tunes and arbitrary reductions of monies by service providers from users, it will be a catalyst for economic growth.

The Deputy Governor who expressed dismay over the way and manner the service providers treat their customers most often without apology poses great consequences to the growth of the industry. He blamed ignorance on the part of the consumers for the alleged misconducts of service providers.

“So, I think that these complaints are what NCC as a body has to look at with a view to encouraging the service providers to resolve the issues”, he stressed, revealing that the state government as a result of its unequivocal commitment to developing the ICT sector and has therefore established the Ebonyi Telecom Infrastructure Compliance Agency to ensure there are legal and proper ways of developing Telecom infrastructure in the state.