Sunday Dare Berates Telcos’ No-Show, Proposes Charter to Revamp Telecom Sector

The Federal Government on Thursday faulted major telecommunications operators for shunning a national dialogue on service delivery, warning that lack of collaboration is stalling Nigeria’s bid to leverage digital infrastructure for microeconomic growth and GDP expansion.

The dialogue, convened by the National Civil Society Council of Nigeria – NCSCN with the theme “Upscaling Telecommunications and Data Services for Microeconomic and GDP Growth,” was held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Asokoro, Abuja.

Mr. Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, delivered the keynote address to a hall filled with regulators, civil society leaders, consumer advocates and industry experts.

Mr. Dare expressed disappointment that network providers were absent from a forum designed to address issues affecting millions of subscribers daily.

“The absence of operators at a dialogue of this magnitude is regrettable,” he said. “We cannot fix what we refuse to discuss together. It is time to shift from assigning blame to building solutions.”

He described telecommunications and broadband as “the new electricity” — fundamental to commerce, education, health, financial inclusion and job creation.

“If we get connectivity right, micro businesses in Kano, women cooperatives in Enugu, and tech startups in Abuja will scale. If we get it wrong, we will continue to export talent and import poverty,” Mr. Dare added.

He called on the NCC, the operators, and government agencies to embrace transparency and adopt a problem-solving approach to persistent complaints of dropped calls, slow data, arbitrary charges, and infrastructure vandalism.

To provide a clear path forward, Mr. Dare presented a 10-Point Charter for Digital Reform for adoption by government, regulators, operators and civil society:

Accelerate Countrywide Broadband Expansion: Prioritize fiber and wireless deployment in underserved and rural communities to close the digital divide.
Publish Service Performance Indicators: Mandate operators to release quarterly, verifiable data on call completion rates, data speeds, and downtime.
Boost Consumer Literacy: Roll out nationwide campaigns on data usage, cybersecurity, digital safety, and consumer rights.
Protect Critical Infrastructure: Strengthen policing, legislation and community engagement to curb cable theft and vandalism, which Mr. Dare described as a “serious and recurring threat” to connectivity.
Expand Infrastructure Sharing: Create fiscal incentives for operators to co-locate towers and share fiber, to reduce capital expenditure and service costs.
Drive Next-Generation Investment: Attract private and public investment into fiber optics, 5G, and satellite backhaul to future-proof the network.
Institutionalize Stakeholder Collaboration: Reactivate a structured multi-stakeholder platform involving government, NCC, operators, CSOs and consumer groups to meet quarterly.
Balance Affordability and Investment: Harmonize tariff and tax policies to ensure affordable data for citizens while protecting the financial viability of operators.
Enforce Accountability and Oversight: Deepen regulatory enforcement and empower civil society to independently monitor service quality.
Institutionalize Regular Public Dialogue: Make engagements like the NCSCN forum a statutory, quarterly platform to track progress and resolve complaints.

In his remarks, Mr. Blessing Akinlosotu, Executive Director of NCSCN, commended the Nigerian Communications Commission – NCC for its active participation at the dialogue and for “consistently holding network providers accountable in the delivery of services to Nigerian subscribers.”

“The NCC has shown leadership by showing up, by listening, and by enforcing standards,” Mr. Akinlosotu said. “What we now need is for the operators to match that commitment with presence, investment, and improved service quality.”

He said the dialogue was part of NCSCN’s constitutional mandate to amplify citizens’ voices and ensure that both government and private actors are held accountable for public services.

participants were mandated to come up with a communique outlining resolutions, timelines and responsibilities for government, regulators, operators and civil society.

A technical committee was set up to draft the communique and submit recommendations to stakeholders

“This communique will serve as our roadmap for accountability. It will track what has been promised and what has been delivered,” Comrade Gambo Jagindi NCSCN official stated.

As of press time, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria – ALTON had not issued a statement on their absence or on the charter.

With over 220 million active telecom subscriptions in Nigeria, stakeholders agree that improving service quality is no longer a sectoral issue — it is an economic imperative.