Abuja, Nov. 25, 2024 – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is engaging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in resolving the N250 billion debts owed by banks to telecom operators.
Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, the NCC Director of Consumer Affairs, made the promise during a training programme for journalists on emerging trends in the telecom sector.
He said the commission was talking with the CBN to find amicable resolution of the crisis and expressed optimism that it would soon be resolved.
The debts were incurred through unpaid fees on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services offered to commercial banks by the telecom operators.
The USSD service enables users to send text messages and perform financial transactions, such as cash transfers and balance inquiries.
The debts have been in contention since the last six years. The telecom operators once got the approval of the NCC to bar banks from using the services in 2013.
The debt, which was N80 billion in November 2022, rose to more than N120 billion by April 2023 and is now estimated to be over N250 billion.
Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the banks had been profiting from USSD services without meeting their payment obligations to banks in the last six years.
“Under normal circumstances, this would be a straightforward commercial transaction, but it has gained political interest. If it were simply business as usual, there are clauses in the contract that would allow each party to prepare themselves.
“Both parties would have been able to invoke those clauses. However, due to the political interest that has developed over the years, it has now become necessary for operators to seek regulatory clearance before taking any action,” he said. (GBN)
