The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, yesterday, justified its
action for shutting down the controversial All Progressive Congress, APC
SMS platform for fund raising, saying that the action of the mobile
network operators in running a political advertisement for the APC
wasn’t in compliance with the provisions of the NCC guidelines on the
use of shot Codes in Nigeria.
►The Director Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Mr.
Tony Ojobo, made the clarification at a press conference held at the
NCC headquarters in Abuja.
►Ojobo said, the Commission did not erred at all in shutting down the SMS platform, given that the mobile network operator in question ran foul of section 3 of NCC’s guidelines, by not applying officially to the Commission for approval in accordance with section 3 of the NCC’s Act.
►Ojobo said, the Commission did not erred at all in shutting down the SMS platform, given that the mobile network operator in question ran foul of section 3 of NCC’s guidelines, by not applying officially to the Commission for approval in accordance with section 3 of the NCC’s Act.
According to him, the section reads in parts: ‘‘the Commission shall
receive written notification from the licensees for all advertisements
for goods and services within a minimum of seven days of the proposed or
planned publication of an advertisement, in order to ensure such
advertisements meet the minimum standards and requires.’’
Meanwhile, the Commission has threatened to sanction any service
provider involved in the saga for their failure to comply with the
Commission’s guidelines once the investigations are concluded.
Mr. Ojobo, who buttressed the NCC’s stands with evidence, wondered why
the Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola and his party would accuse
the Commission of being partisan in the matter, even when the Governor
passed through the same process before his re-election in 2011.
‘‘In 2010, the Commission based on applications received across party
lines had granted Codes for use by political parties to raise funds as
well create awareness.
‘‘We feel a need to clarify certain issues circulating in the press
especially in the light of inquiries we have been receiving in the last
few days. Prior to Monday, 19th, January, 2015, the Commission was
inundated with complaints from several subscribers to the effect that
they were receiving messages from network Operators to vote one
political party or the other.
‘‘Our investigations revealed that subscribers in either checking their
call balance or receiving end of call notification/alert got messages
asking them to vote for one party or the other. Mobile network operators
within the industry in Nigeria have various forms of engagements with
the subscribers.
‘‘For mobile network operators to use these platforms to place adverts
to their teeming subscribers, the NCC guidelines on adverts and promos
require them to notify the Commission seven days prior to such
advertisement,’’ he explained.
‘‘Once a short codes have been formally allocated to an a service
provider, such provider must use the short code solely for the purpose
intended, and should ensure that its operations are in compliance with
the provisions of the NCC guidelines on the use of Short Codes in
Nigeria.
‘‘in effect, the solicitation to the subscribers to vote one party or
the other after end of all notification or balance inquiry amounts to an
advert of which the network operators are obliged to notify the
Commission based on the above provisions, which they did not do and this
is a breach of the guidelines,’’ he explained.
Ojobo insisted that the Nigerian Communications Commission is a
responsible and independent regulatory agency and that its independence
has never been in doubt, pointing out that the sector had witnessed
tremendous growth and investment, making it one of the fastest markets
in the world.
Why NCC Shut Down APC's Fund Raising Platform
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Oleh
healthandwealth
