The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) has inaugurated a joint committee on consumer protection, aimed at working toward the protection of the interest of telecom and lottery consumers against malpractices that may arise from mobile lotteries in the country.
The inauguration took place at the NCC Headquarters in Abuja, and the Committee was tasked with the responsibility of figuring out, ways to address mutual regulatory issues between the agencies; including the review of the revenue-sharing formula, between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and lottery operators.
There has been negotiations between the two organizations, as far back as the Joe Ekpe leadership era, which precipitated the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) between the agencies.
The Committee will work towards reviewing and updating the last NCC-NLRC MoU, which was signed on the 6th of August 2018, under Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila; the current DG, but has since expired. It is hoped that the renewal of the expired MoU, which is intended to come with amendments, will accommodate new provisions that will be favourable to all stakeholders, and equally fast-track the development of Nigeria’s digital economy.
The Joint Committee comprises of senior members of staff in both Organisations, which are expected to work closely, in order to develop a collaborative structure that will progressively improve the delivery of gaming services, for telecoms consumers.
The representative of the NLRC; Olayemi Ajayi, believes that both agencies, can conclusively address issues and other concerns that have been identified, in the operation of lotteries in the telecom industry trough this renewed collaboration, with NCC.
