The President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Nigeria,
Other top officials of the Chamber here present,
Management and Staff of NCC present,
Invited Special Guests,
Visitors to the Trade Fair,
Gentlemen of the Press,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is delighted to be part of the 18 th
Abuja International Trade Fair organized by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (ACCI) at the Abuja Trade & Convention Centre, Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua
Way, Airport Road, Abuja.
Over the years, the NCC has continued to be a strategic partner to the Commerce,
Mines and Industry, as the Commission leverages the Trade Fair platform to engage
telecoms consumers and business owners, who are based in various regions of the
country.
Partnering with ACCI through our Special “NCC Day” event is a pleasure for us at
the Commission, as it usually provides a veritable platform for interaction with
telecoms stakeholders, especially our esteemed telecoms consumers.
Permit me to, at this juncture to convey the appreciation of the Board and
Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission to ACCI for your
invitation to the Commission to participate in this annual Trade Fair.
Ladies and gentlemen, This year’s edition of the Trade Fair with the theme –
‘Sustainable Financing and Taxation’ is very apt and timely, especially considering
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the pivotal role the telecommunications industry play in driving economic growth,
fostering innovation, and enhancing the quality of life for citizens across the globe. As
the telecommunications regulator in Nigeria, we bear the responsibility of ensuring
the sustainability and vitality of the sector.
The Commission recognizes the fact that telecommunications sector has been a
strategic driver of the digital economy agenda of the Federal Government, as it
continues to provide the needed digital stamina to support the economy, especially
through technology. It is no longer news that telecommunications empowers
individuals, connects businesses, strengthen industries and enable Governments to
provide essential services efficiently thereby driving development and prosperity.
Information Communications Technology (ICT) is not only one of the fastest
growing industries – directly creating millions of jobs – but it is also an important
enabler of innovation and development, as it provides the backbone infrastructure for
transactional business and taxation for Government. However, maintaining this digital
infrastructure and its continued growth necessitates substantial investment.
Sustainable financing in telecommunication involves sourcing the necessary capital to
build and maintain robust telecommunications networks. As regulators, we
understand that this financing should be stable, accessible and conducive for industry
growth. Taxation while essential for funding of Government initiatives must strike a
delicate balance between revenue generation and industry growth.
Our role as regulator, is to advocate for fair taxation practices that do not stifle
innovation or place undue burden on consumers. We acknowledge the intricacies of
tax policies but emphasize the importance of creating an environment where
telecommunications companies can thrive. To address these challenges the
Commission continuously engage both the Federal and State Government on the
need to harmonize taxation in the telecommunications sector.
NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services will benefit Nigeria
and make it competitive comparable with other economies in the areas of job
creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; emergence of new
services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.
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It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the
Commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure
seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services in order to deepen
competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our businesses and industries
digitally compliant.
In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached 220,715,961
million as at August 2023, while Teledensity stood at 115.63 per cent at the same
period. Also, the number of active Internet subscribers was 159,034,717 Million with
broadband penetration at 45.57 per cent as at August, 2023. In this new environment,
the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses depends on their ability to leverage on
new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an
international scale. This in turn benefits the economy financially.
Ladies and gentlemen, the steady growth of telecoms sector over the years with its
pervasive positive impact on all other sectors of the economy in terms of increased
automation of processes and digital transformation in service delivery, has been
remarkable. This, however, would not have been possible without you, telecoms
consumers who are using the services daily.
To sustain this, therefore, the NCC continues to create a conducive environment that
stimulates deployment of robust telecoms/broadband infrastructure for improving
the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for telecoms consumers,
be it individuals or corporates. This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms
infrastructure that will help our industries transit to becoming Information and
Communication Technology (ICT)-driven if we hope to be digitally competitive on
the global stage.
The Commission is working assiduously with various stakeholders including you, the
consumers, to see how more businesses can embrace digital platforms for delivering
their services to the consumer. As a regulator, we also ensure we constantly inform
you, the consumers on how to be protected to prevent cases of online fraud or avoid
consumer falling victims of cybercrime antics while in their legitimate use of the
Internet.
As you may be aware, the NCC is driving initiatives for the full deployment of Fifth
Generation (5G) network in Nigeria. Already, 5G spectrum licenses have been issued
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to companies for rollout. It is important to state that the 5G network will bring
substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and
capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities to communications services in Nigeria. I
am happy to inform you that licensees have kicked off the commercial launch of 5G
network in some cities across the nation.
More importantly, it is also our commitment, at NCC, to continue to provide a level-
playing ground for operators to thrive, promote investment and delivery of innovative
services to individual consumers and business owners by ensuring enhanced
consumer quality of experience.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I would like to sincerely thank all of you, for
taking time to be with us at the “NCC Day” and we encourage you to take maximum
advantage to get to know more about what we do at NCC.
Please kindly note – you are at liberty to take advantage of this forum to ask
questions on issues you might have, regarding general telecoms service delivery, as
they affect you and you are equally free to visit the NCC’s Stand at the exhibition
ground, where our staff and representatives of various telecoms service providers are
waiting to attend to all your service-related queries, enquiries and complaints.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, permit me to emphasize that the NCC will
continue to drive the remarkable digital transformation we are witnessing in our
economy today. We also believe that with sustainable financing and fair taxation
practices, we can ensure that the telecommunications sector remains resilient and
continue to serve as the catalyst for progress in our interconnected world.
I thank you for listening.
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, FNSE, FAEng.,
FRAES, FNIEEE Executive Vice Chairman/CEO
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
