NCC to link over 37m underserved Nigerians

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has restated its commitment to bridge the communication access gaps in the country and ensure that over 37 million Nigerians with poor access to telecommunication infrastructure are captured.

The executive vice chairman of the commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made this known when he received a delegation of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), led by its Nigerian chapter head, Tom Isibor, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

“We want to ensure a market driven industry and as well as universal access to qualitative telecom services. We want to solve the problem of access gaps in the country. There are over 200 of them with about 37 million people especially in rural areas affected. Our ultimate goal is to make services ubiquitous. There should be equity in terms of provision of service.

The existence of these access gaps now serve as an impediment to some government programmes like financial penetration and inclusion. So we can work together in extending infrastructures to these areas. We are not only regulating access but costs as well in order to ensure affordability,” he said.

Danbatta said NCC has a segment for strategic collaboration and partnership in its agenda and would give the necessary support to the ACCA, adding NCC’s collaboration with the ACCA would not only enhance its financial integrity, but would also put it at the forefront of other governmental and non governmental organizations.

 Speaking earlier, Isinor described NCC as an iconic organisation owing to its level of service and communication infrastructure with a need to improve upon its financial and business plan.

He said: “We are recognizing and partnering with them in capacity and development of members of staff and also in assisting their organization in delivering key business plans.

“Our partnership is in recognition of the good shape of the executive vice chairman, and we are also recognizing the leadership of the organisation because without leadership the organization is not going to move very far at all.

“Another one is that the NCC as an organization have the approved employers’ scheme which confers it some benefits with the ACCA and enables it to have partnership with the ACCA as well to ensure that the finance department of NCC is well developed. “In terms of strategic partnership, NCC is very massive in terms of research and in terms of collaboration, building joint business planning meaning NCC have a better and more effective regulatory body in telecommunications space.”