The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has refuted an online media report alleging that Nigeria’s mobile’s telephony subscriptions grew by three million subscribers in the first quarter of 2021.
This is despite the suspension on the registration of new telephone subscribers in Nigeria, which took effect from December 9, 2020 and was only lifted in May, 2021.
The NCC said on Thursday in a statement signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde that the Ericsson Mobility Report cited in the online publication was “essentially a forecast of trends based on Ericsson’s analysis and does not refer to the NCC or any official channel as source for its data and/or projections.”
“It is, therefore, inaccurate that Nigeria recorded 3million new lines in the 1st Quarter of 2021 as stated in the media report,” the NCC said in the rebuttal.
“We wish to use this opportunity to clarify that the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are the only authoritative sources of authentic data on the Nigerian telecommunications sector.
“Indeed, the Commission is well aware of the critical need to make accurate and up-to-date data available to all Stakeholders.
“Indeed, as a matter of corporate policy and consistent with international best practice, relevant data and statistics on the industry are transparently reported and regularly updated on the Commission’s website (< https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview >) for free use by interested Stakeholders,” the NCC said in the statement.
To accurately report the trends in the telecommunications industry in the country, the Commission encouraged all Stakeholders “to visit its website for authentic data on the sector and to refer all doubts to its Public Affairs Department to avoid unnecessary controversy and/or inadvertently misleading other Stakeholders who may rely on such reports.”
The Commission also urged Stakeholders to disregard any information on subscriber data different from those presented in the Commission’s website.
