Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) are considering possible areas of increasing collaboration to enhance the impact and contribution of the telecommunications sector on Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
The two entities also considered synergy in the area of Research and Development (R&D); while NESG has expressed its desire to have the Commission feature prominently in the forthcoming Nigeria Economic Summit (NES), an annual summit organized by the NESG, scheduled to hold in October this year.
It was also disclosed that NCC and NESG will also join forces with the National Assembly Business Environment Round Table (NASSBER) to further enhance Telecoms contribution to Nigeria’s socio-economic growth.
Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who was represented by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, stated this during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the National Assembly Business Environment Round Table (NASSBER), a policy unit at NESG led by Nnanna Ude, and a member of the technical committee of NASSBER, Yemi Keri.
Adinde explained that there is a need for stakeholders collaboration and engagement to conduct an impact assessment and gap analysis of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which will lead to the improvement of the legal instrument and reflect new trends, especially in a post-pandemic world.
“The Nigerian Communications Act 2003 is a robust regulatory instrument, which has given the NCC the mandate to regulate the telecom sector effectively, as seen in the contribution to the overall economic development of the country.
Under Section 70 of the NCA 2003, the Commission has developed various regulations and issued guidelines that have helped in addressing critical issues on its regulatory activities.”
Engr Wakil spoke about NCC’s regulatory efforts and collaborations with various stakeholders, such as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) towards addressing challenges to quality of service (QoS) in the telecom industry.
He stated the impact of the challenges such as multiple taxation and regulations, fiber cuts, vandalism, high cost of Right of Way (RoW), theft of telecoms facilities, and the need for the passage of the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) Bill into law.
Speaking earlier on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of NESG, Laoye Jaiyeola; Ude acknowledged the critical role NCC is playing in the provision of essential digital support for the Nigerian economy.
He noted that, in 20 years of telecoms liberalization, the Commission has been contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The visit was part of the efforts of the NESG to strengthen collaboration with key institutions of government such as the NCC. He extolled the role of the Commission in driving telecommunications sector growth through efficient and result-oriented regulations, noting that the impact of the regulations is evident in industry performance indicators which have shown an upward trajectory over the recent years.
He added that the Commission is critical to the digital transformation agenda of the government, and the footprints of the readiness of the country on that journey can be seen in terms of the level of broadband penetration, internet subscription, tele-density, and other critical indicators.