Enugu – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has expressed worry over multiple taxations imposed on telecom service providers in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Garba Umaru, made the observation in a message to the Special Day of the commission at the ongoing 27th Enugu International Trade Fair in Enugu on Friday.
According to him, the service providers are suffering untold hardship in the country as a result of imposition of taxes and levies.
“Apart from the taxes and levies, the service providers are further burdened with regulations that restrict right of way to deploy or expand services.
“Even when the service providers are willing to make services available, we as members of government at various levels and communities put bottlenecks on their way.
The vice chairman was represented by the Director of Publicity, Mr Tony Ojobo.
He said that for the service providers to make services available to consumers, they have to build base stations, masts, towers, which were challenges they faced.
The NCC boss said that the commission had continued to engage states in the South-East to discourage multiple taxations and regulations.
Umaru expressed regrets that vandalising telecom infrastructure was very high in the South-East of the country which also contributed to the challenges faced by service providers.
He explained that MTN was fined because of failure to register some SIM cards, pointing out that it was not a punitive measure but to reduce rate of crime like kidnapping and armed robbery.
In his speech, the President of the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), Rev. Ugochukwu Chime, commended NCC for its regular participation in the fair.
Chime explained that the role of NCC as a regulatory agency was to ensure the best practices efficient and effective service delivery by operators in the sector.
He urged NCC to do more, especially in regulating operators in the sector and protecting vulnerable customers. (NAN)
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