The Nigerian Communications Commission has vowed to work with other agencies to rid Nigeria of fake, substandard and bio hazardous phones and accessories.
The Executive Vice-chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta made the vow at the World Consumer Rights Day news conference and presentation of Telecom Consumer Handbook on Monday in Abuja.
The NCC helmsman said the collaboration was necessary to ensure the protection of the environment in consonance with the theme of the consumer rights day which was: “Tackling Plastic Pollution”.
According to him the rising wave of importation of fake and substandard mobile devices usually made of iron and plastic components would not augur well for the nation if not tackled.
He called on the office of the National Security Adviser and other relevant Federal Government agencies to inaugurate a committee to implement Mobile Devices Management Systems (DMS).
“This initiative is designed as a Public-Private Partnership aimed at combating the proliferation of fake, counterfeit, substandard and cloned communication devices in the telecommunications industry” he said.
He noted that the expected result of this initiative was to ensure that only genuine devices made of enduring materials were allowed into the country for consumer consumption.
Danbatta said the commission had in place a strict type-approval process that ensured all equipment used in the telecommunications industry were of a suitable standard, both for the good of the consumers and for the preservation of the environment.
He said in tackling the issues of plastic pollution, NCC drafted the Nigerian Communications Industry E-Waste Regulation in 2018.
The NCC boss noted that the commission was concluding processes to issue the regulation on e-waste.
“It is mindful of the fact that many ICT and telecom devices have plastic components, whose waste materials can worsen plastic pollution.
“We reckon that improper disposal of such disused ICT-plastic embedded products has grave implication on public health and especially in achieving Goals 11, 12 and 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.
“These goals speak to the imperative of adhering to practices that enhance Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production; as well as Climate Action respectively.
Danbatta pointed out that the commission had designed an array of consumer protection measures such as the “Do not Disturb” “Data Rollover” “112 safety number” and value-added services, which had reduced unsolicited calls and messages by 96 per cent in three years.
Speaking on the issues of SIM and National Identity Number (NIN) normalisation, the EVC said the commission had ensured full compliance with Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards registration guidelines by the service providers and telecom consumers.
“This is to ensure proper registration to stop the use of improperly-registered SIMs, which usage is difficult to track. Having a credible subscriber database helps in tracing a SIM card to the real owner in case of any criminal investigation.
“This will help in curbing the painful rise in tempo of kidnapping, robberies, banditry and similar crimes committed with the aid of the use of SIM cards.
“We have made arrests and prosecutions in the past in this regard and through this effort, we have been able to sanitise the telecoms ecosystem of improperly-registered SIM cards that pose threats to national security.
“It is, therefore, pertinent to say that the linking of SIM and NIN database will further help us in this direction, toward protecting the consumers and all citizens at large,” he said.
