The Nigerian Communication Commission said it has contributed about N1.4 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria in the third quarter of 2016.
Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Professor Umar Danbatta disclosed this while briefing the Senate Committee on Communications on an oversight function to the Commission on Tuesday.
Prof Danbatta stressed that the NCC contributions to the GDP in the last three years is well above N1.4 Trillion per quarter, adding that it has ranged between seven to close to 10 per cent in different times.
Danbatta who also spoke on the budget performance of NCC, said that the Commission is about to start implementing the 2016 budget which was recently approved, adding that when the approval is communicated formally, contracts will be awarded to deserving companies.
He also noted that the 2017 budget has been submitted before the Senate for early pursuant and effect, saying that Commission will track the budget as it has always done, to ensure prompt approval.
While talking on the preregistered sim card issues, he noted that the NCC will develop a regulatory directive on the registration to stop preregistered Sims.
The EVC while noting that the NCC has received global recognition for its efforts in 2016 in economic growth, assured that the Commission will continue with its efforts for the telecommunications sector to play its role in growth of the country.
In his remarks, the Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Adeola Solomon congratulated the NCC for always making itself available whenever invited by the Senate.
According to him; “We are here to look into the 2016 budget performance of NCC but as we speak the budget has just been approved by the Senate and the document is yet to be transmitted to the NCC formally, and it is expected that by the time the document would have arrived at the NCC, and work would have started, in the next couple of months we might be back for scrutiny on the budget performance of 2016”.
He however called on the NCC to begin work on the 2017 budget in earnest for quick delivery.
“Let me use this medium to call on the EVC that the 2017 budget, work should begin in earnest, we want to ensure that once the president will be laying his budget before the National Assembly, in the next one or two weeks let us as a committee have the budget of NCC so that by first, second month of the year, through the Senate, the budget can be returned back to NCC for work to commence in earnest”. He said.