NCC clarifies Vice-Chairman’s comments on agency’s N1.4tr contribution to GDP

THE N1.4 trillion contributed by the telecoms sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Quarter One of 2016 has earned the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) a global award, the industry regulator has said. The latest award won by NCC, the European Award for Best Practices 2016, came less than 14 days after it was adjudged as the African regulator of the year.

The award ceremony which held in Brussels, Belgium was given to the Nigerian regulator by the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR), an affiliate of the European Union (EU).

About 63 countries participated in the award ceremony out of which the NCC won the European Award for Best Practices 2016. The award which is the Gold category is “in recognition of its outstanding commitment, support and results in quality management strategies” in the Gold category, according to a statement yesterday by the NCC. The award was received by Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director Public Affairs, NCC, on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, the statement added.

The organisers referred to investors’ confidence in the Nigerian Telecommunications sector as a result of the transparent regulatory activities of the NCC.

Meanwhile, The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says its attention has been drawn to media reports quoting the Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, as saying that the NCC, “has realised over N1.4 trillion in the first quarter of 2016”, and “the funds generated was part of their contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”

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The ECV was reported to have made the comment during a courtesy call to Kano State Governor.

The Special Adviser on Media to EVC, Yakubu Musa in a statement stated that, “what a section of media attributed him was not the accurate representation of what he said at Kano State Government House on Wednesday”.

“To set the record straight, the EVC was only quoting a recent report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which puts the entire contribution of the telecommunications sector to the GDP, during the period under review, at N1.4 trillion and thus not funds generated by the Commission as alluded by the reports.

“In fact, this was not the first time the EVC was referring to the NBS report at a function and the media, including the respected newspapers, which erroneously published the story, had always reported him accurately.

“Yet the NCC has been in the vanguard of generating non-oil revenue for the nation and under the leadership of its current EVC, it has just realized $ 96 million for the Federal Government from a successful auctioning of 2.6GHz spectrum, which MTN Nigeria paid for 5 MHz of 6 slots of 30MHz.

“Similarly, the commission has remitted the sum of N70 billion to the federation account from “These and many more, including the N1.4 trillion telecom sector contribution to the GDP, are no doubt parts of significant feats under Danbatta’s leadership.” December 2015 to March 2016.