NCC wins ‘Regulator of the Year’ award

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has won the ”Regulator of the Year” award for the contributions of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the economy.

The convener of the 8th Edition of Beacon of Information and Communication Technology (BoICT) Lecture and Awards”, Mr Ken Nwogbo said this on the sidelines of the event in Lagos.

Nwogbo said that the commission had through its regulatory acumen facilitated the contributions of the sector to the economy.

He said that the NCC had shown that with the right regulatory leadership, the telecommunications industry could impact positively on the country’s economy.

“The telecommunications industry in Nigeria without doubt, contributes enormously to the growth of Nigeria’s economy.

“Indeed, if the story of Nigeria’s democracy since May 29, 1999 were to be told, the advent, growth and impact of the industry will occupy generous chapters of such chronicle.

“Lots of credit will go to the regulator, NCC, which has continued to show that by providing a germane investment ambience, the sector can impact and transform a country’s economy.

“So, without mincing words, one can say the telecommunications sector has emerged as the single most important economic growth engine in recent years,” he said.

It was reported that the telecommunications sector contributed N1, 580 billion or 9.8 per cent to the country’s GDP in the second quarter of 2016.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that the contribution represented an increase of 1.0 per cent relative to the previous quarter.

The Bureau said that growth in telecommunications had remained robust when compared to total GDP.

Nwogbo said that the BoICT awards were to reward best practices and recognise outstanding contributions to the growth of the sector.

He said that the awards were merit centric and designed to reward individuals and firms that had helped make life better for Nigerians.

Other recipients of the awards include Simach Technologies as the ‘Best Indigenous Software Company of the Year’, Inlaks Computers won ‘ICT Company of the Year’ and Cornerstone Insurance got the ‘Best Use of Technology Insurance Company of the Year’.

VDT Communications was awarded the Broadband Company of the Year, Spectranet as the Best 4G LTE Provider of the Year and Rack Centre as the ICT Infrastructure Provider of the Year.

The Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year went to Vodacom Business, Priority Communications got IT Services Provider of the Year’ and Tradeways Ltd. was awarded the Most Innovative Courier Operator of the Year.

The Managing Director of Sidmach Technologies, Mr Peter Arogundade was the ‘Man of the Year’ and Mr Biodun Omoniyi, MD of VDT Communications Ltd. got the ICT Personality of the Year award.

The ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award went to the MD of Inlaks, Mr Femi Adeoti, while the Chairman of CNSSL Group, Mr Gbenga Adebayo was given the Life Time Achievement Award, among others.