Provision of excellent telecom services that enables all Nigerians to have value for their hard-earned money is a given and is, therefore, non-negotiable under the current digital economy regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, according to the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida who solicited the cooperation of telecom operators to actualize the goal.
Maida, who handed down the charge on Thursday in Lagos at an interactive session he had to build confidence with chief executive officers in the industry, assured them of adequate collaborations within the industry anchored on commitment to transparency in the telecom ecosystem.
Urging the industry chieftains to appreciate their prime and privileged position in a critical industry such as telecom, he sought their commitment to consolidating on the achievements already recorded in the sector, describing them as veritable enablers of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Speaking as his confirmation as the substantive chief executive officer of the Commission was taking place at the Senate Chambers of the National Assembly in Abuja, Maida noted that the expectations of telecom consumers were very high.
“People actually expect telecom services to work. I don’t think they really appreciate what it takes to deliver these services. So, it has come to a stage they just see telecom service as utility like water and electricity. Like a social service, it needs to work. We need to really come together in the industry and deliver value to the customer,” he said.
He also addressed, in very frank and unambiguous terms, the fundamental subject of compliance with established and extant industry regulations and standards, saying that everybody in the industry should focus and be on all fours.
“When it comes to compliance, this is an area where we are going to be placing a lot more focus, and things are going to be a lot more urgent. I am not going to be asking for compliance after the fact. That is going to be a very key area of focus for me.
“So, we owe it to ourselves to benchmark ourselves against the best, not against other sectors. We have to just take ourselves as setting the benchmark for every person else. So, let people compare and say we have to be as good as telecom.”
On broadband, Maida said the Commission has a very short time to do so much.
“A lot has been done with the Infrastructure Company (InfraCo) licensing. We just have to re-imagine, look at it again, and see whether that is the right approach and re-imagine how we approach it. We now need to start getting into the states, and perhaps we might need to sit down and see how we can do that differently. Again, on the broadband issue, we need to increase the investment,” he said.
The new NCC boss said that he considered operating entities as a very crucial segment of the national telecom development, hence his desire to hear directly from industry CEOs about the issues, challenges, and opportunities.
“We also have to be clear that this is not just a conversation about you representing your shareholders. This is a conversation about Nigeria. This is a conversation about moving Nigeria forward. So, your shareholders are one part of your stakeholders, but Nigerians are also another critical, in fact, your most important stakeholders. So, this conversation is going to be about you having your shareholders, but you also have Nigerians to whom you will have to deliver services,” he said.
The CEOs, who expressed delight at the consultative approach of the EVC, promised to work closely in support of Maida’s mandate.
President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Emoekpere, said the industry was reassured by the steps that Maida has taken in convening the interactive session.
“We are really encouraged that your first action is to meet with us here at this interactive session. What you have done to invite us here to hear what we have to say is the right step,” he said.
Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, commended the interactive session for providing a platform for discussing the issues in the industry. He said the approach of the new boss of the NCC is very promising.
The important session was also attended by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, NCC, Adeleke Adewolu; and the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Tony Emoekpere, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer/Company Secretary, Airtel Nigeria, Shola Adeyemi, Chief Executive Officer, IHS Nigeria Limited, Mohammad Darwish and Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, among other stakeholders.
