Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) has banned all promotions carried out by mobile operators as well as lotteries being carried out on their networks. The Commission said that in recent times it has been inundated with complaints from consumers about promotions offered by the nation’s mobile operators.

It found that the promotions that increased the number of minutes available to subscribers for a limited period of time created congestion in networks. Subscribers flocked to use up the available minutes within the stipulated time.

The Commission also blamed the promotions for causing termination of calls to become increasingly difficult from one network to another.

“The overall consumer experience on the networks has become very poor thereby making it extremely difficult for subscribers to make calls successfully,” explained Tony Ojobo, director of public affairs at the NCC.

“This ban is with immediate effect and shall continue to remain in force until such a time as may be determined by the Commission,” he added.