A legal practitioner, Sesan Bankole, has argued that chief executives of telecommunications companies do not necessarily have to appear personally before the House of Representatives when invited to explain service-related concerns, saying the companies can appoint representatives to attend on their behalf.
Bankole’s position follows the House of Representatives’ threats on Wednesday to order arrest summons against telecoms chief executives after rejecting an attempt by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, to represent them at a hearing on poor network quality.
The committee directed the executives and other senior management officials to appear on November 4.
The lawyer said telecommunications companies, being legal entities, could be represented by individuals duly appointed to speak on their behalf.
“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,” Bankole said.
He also questioned the extent of the National Assembly’s powers in handling complaints about telecommunications services, arguing that legislative oversight should not amount to taking over the regulatory responsibilities of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
According to him, Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution empowers the National Assembly to conduct investigations for the purpose of making or amending laws and examining the management of public funds appropriated by the legislature.
He cited Tony Momoh v. Senate (1982), page 205, in support of his argument that legislative investigations must remain within constitutionally permitted purposes.
“Any investigation that goes beyond making laws or exposing corruption in the management of budgeted public funds is invalid,” Bankole said.
He added that the National Assembly could not regulate telecommunications operators or impose fines, insisting that such responsibilities belonged to the NCC.
“And they can’t regulate or impose fine; that is the work of the regulator, which is the NCC,” he stressed.
Bankole also described the invitation as sub judice, saying it came while a related lawsuit instituted by ALTON remained pending before the courts.
The suit, reportedly filed in 2018, challenges repeated legislative summonses of telecommunications executives over matters the association considers to fall within the NCC’s regulatory jurisdiction.
His position echoes arguments raised by lawyer and public policy commentator Ilemona Onoja, who has questioned whether the House’s investigation falls within the constitutional limits of legislative inquiries.
In an article published on October 26, Onoja argued that Section 88(1) does not confer a general power on the National Assembly to investigate private commercial operations simply because they attract public criticism.
He cited previous court decisions, including Senate of the National Assembly v. Tony Momoh and the 2023 Court of Appeal decision in SPDC v. Speaker of the House of Representatives, as relevant to the limits of legislative summonses.
Onoja acknowledged that public interest over telecommunications services was legitimate but argued that lawmakers could pursue remedies through legislation rather than duplicate the work of the sector’s regulator.
He identified fibre-optic cable vandalism, multiple taxation and inconsistent right-of-way charges as structural challenges the legislature could address.
The House’s says its investigation follows complaints about dropped calls, slow data speeds, and inadequate network coverage affecting businesses and everyday communication.
The NCC regulates telecommunications operators under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and is responsible for enforcing applicable quality-of-service requirements. Onoja noted that the commission had introduced regulatory measures, penalties and a subscriber compensation framework to address service failures.
Bankole maintained that the National Assembly’s primary responsibility was to make laws that provide an enabling environment, rather than assume the functions of the sector’s statutory regulator.
Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
