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A lawyer, and public analyst Sesan Bankole, has mentioned Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution limits the investigative powers of the National Assembly, arguing that legislative inquiries should be tied to lawmaking or the investigation of the administration of public funds appropriated by the legislature.
Bankole, who was commenting on the House of Representatives’ summons of telecommunications operators over poor community high quality, mentioned the lawmakers might invite firms within the public curiosity however couldn’t assume the regulatory tasks of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
He additionally described the summons as sub judice, saying the invitation got here whereas a associated lawsuit instituted by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) remained pending earlier than the courts.
The swimsuit, reportedly filed in 2018, challenges repeated legislative summonses of telecommunications executives over issues ALTON considers to fall throughout the NCC’s regulatory jurisdiction.
According to Bankole, the courts have interpreted Section 88 as allowing investigations for the aim of creating or amending legal guidelines, or inspecting the administration of budgeted public funds.
He cited Tony Momoh v. Senate (1982), web page 205, arguing that investigations past the constitutionally permitted functions have been invalid.
“Any investigation that goes beyond making laws or exposing corruption in the management of budgeted public funds is invalid,” Bankole mentioned.
He added that the National Assembly couldn’t regulate telecommunications operators or impose fines, insisting that such tasks belonged to the NCC.
“And they can’t regulate or impose fine; that is the work of the regulator, which is the NCC,” he mentioned.
The lawyer’s feedback adopted the House of Representatives’ choice on October 21 to summon the chief executives of 4 telecommunications operators to seem earlier than an advert hoc committee on October 28 over what it described as poor community high quality.
The committee threatened arrest over non-compliance.
Bankole additionally argued that the chief executives didn’t essentially have to seem personally, saying the businesses might appoint representatives to attend the listening to.
“By the Companies and Allied Matters Act, a telecom is a legal entity that can be represented by any such person appointed by the legal entity,” he mentioned.
The lawmakers say the summons comes amid persistent complaints by subscribers about dropped calls, gradual knowledge speeds and repair interruptions affecting companies and on a regular basis communication.
Telecommunications operators are licensed and controlled by the NCC beneath the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, which gives the framework for regulating the trade and imposing relevant quality-of-service necessities.
Bankole maintained that the National Assembly’s major duty was to make legal guidelines that present an enabling surroundings, slightly than take over the features of the sector’s statutory regulator.
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