Telecommunication company Etisalat Nigeria has claimed it should be exempt from the Nigerian National Communications Commission’s (NCC) blanket ban on promotions and lotteries by operators.
Steve Evans, Chief Executive of Etisalat Nigeria, argued his network did not experience any capacity problem or network congestions and should not be included in the shut-out.
The indefinite ban came into effect on November 13 with the commission arguing promotions and lotteries were clogging up the network.
Speaking at the launch of a new tariff plan for subscribers, Evans said: “The reason we did not have the problem is that we did not offer plans or promos which were offered by the operators, like giving five times or many minutes on net; which you have to use till midnight of that day. It was a recipe for disaster and the operators should have known from the very beginning.
“They had network problem, but we in Etisalat Nigeria did not have network quality problem and we still do not have such problem.”
He added talks are ongoing with the NCC and he hopes the commission would soon reverse its decision to include Etisalat.
“We feel fundamentally that it is unfair for Etisalat to be included in that ban,” he said.
Peter Igho, Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), said there was an ongoing consutation with the NCC over its recent ban. According to him, the consultation is necessary in order to restore sanity and respect for the rule of law.
