Due to the backlog of debt owed by the Nigerian banks, the Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) on Thursday threatened to withdraw Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).

Speaking in a statement issued by the Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo shortly after the first telecoms stakeholders meeting with Aminu Maid, Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in Lagos said the debt owed by the Nigerian commercial banks has increased to N200 billion.

It would be recalled that in September, Umar Danbatta, the former Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC said the debt was N120 billion, but Adebayo said the debts owned by banks had increased to N200 billion.

According to him, although there had been talks on the issue, no concrete action has been taken on the part of the banks, adding that the debt must be paid in total.

He, however, stressed that “telcos would not hesitate to block debtor banks from accessing the service anytime soon”.

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“In spite of all appeals, meetings and interventions by the Ministry of Communications, innovation and Digital Economy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and NCC, mainly during the last administration, the banks have kept mute overpayment.

“If operators had to shut down their services, bank customers would no longer be able to carry out transactions such as fund transfers through shortcodes, check bank details and account balances, among others, through their mobile phones.”

Adebayo also noted that the value of the debt would keep rising based on the foreign exchange challenges in the country, adding that the matter needed to be resolved as fast as possible to avoid the collapse of the sector.

Deposit Money Banks (DMOs) and telecom operators have been at odds since 2019 over the non-remittance of USSD fees.

According to Adebayo, the debt was not allowing telecom operators to further expand their services.

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