Danbatta pledges further accelerated growth of telecommunications industry in Nigeria

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says he is committed to further accelerate the growth of telecommunications industry in Nigeria.

Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs of NCC, said in a statement on Sunday in Lagos, that Danbatta’s assertion was in view of the agency’s role as a key driver of Nigeria’s digital economy vision for the next five years.

Adinde quoted Danbatta as saying, “As a commission, we are committed to challenging our current achievements.

“Consequently, we are poised to work more with the National Assembly and other necessary stakeholders in order to ensure we take Mr President’s digital agenda for the country to the next level in the next five years.”

The statement said that Danbatta was awaiting the Senate’s confirmation of his reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari for another five years term.

“His re-appointment followed the acknowledgement of his outstanding performance in the last five years when he appeared before the Senate Screening Committee on July 15.

“The committee is expected to report the outcome of the screening to the Senate Committee of the Whole House for confirmation of Danbatta’s re-appointment during the next legislative sitting,” he said in the statement.

Adinde also said that Danbatta, during the screening, had demonstrated his deep knowledge of the industry, and extensively discussed his scorecard since he assumed office as the executive vice-chairman of NCC on Aug. 4, 2015.

He said that the committee members had applauded Danbatta for his sterling performance and exceptional leadership qualities, which, they said, had helped in accelerating the growth of the telecommunications sector.

Adinde said: “Danbatta, who gave convincing accounts of his stewardship in the last five years, said the diligent implementation of NCC’s auspicious strategic Eight-Point Agenda, which he put in place when he assumed office in 2015, provided the basis for most of the commission’s achievements.

“These, especially, are in the areas of service availability, accessibility and affordability.

“The EVC reeled outstanding achievements under him in the past five years and provided relevant industry and macro-economic statistics to illuminate his efforts and strides in the areas of the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Quality of Service (QoS) delivery, broadband infrastructure deployment, broadband penetration, effective spectrum utilisation, consumer empowerment, technology innovation as well as the commission’s efforts with respect to curbing fraudulent Subscriber Identity Management (SIM) registration and 112 Emergency Number toward ridding the country of insecurity, among others.”

He said Danbatta thanked the lawmakers for their supports over the last five years.