NCC aligns with Ministry of Communications to speed up access to data

Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said this recently during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, in Abuja to brief him on his activities, vision, and strategy.

Maida said his administration will continue to be transparent and push for quality service as a regulator, warning the telecom operators to up their game.

He said, “Transparency is key. It is by transparency that we can self-regulate, even as regulators. And by so doing, we would be putting ourselves on our toes, which in the long run will drive the commission forward to achieve our goals of operational excellence.”

“Honourable Minister, one of the principles you have shown as a leader is transparency in all your activities, and I must say that it is an attribute that can bring about a transformed industry that is accountable to both the people and the industry players.”

Maida told Tijani that the visit was crucial, as it allowed him to share his vision and priorities for the commission with the minister.

He added that the priorities were in tandem with delivering on the five pillars of the strategic plan unveiled by the minister.

“I have been on this seat for about six weeks, and it has afforded me the privilege of a bird’s-eye view to understand things better and identify areas that we urgently need to work on. We are currently carrying out an in-depth study and critical review of issues within the industry. One of the areas we are placing priority on is Quality of Experience,” Maida said.

In his bid to promote digital inclusiveness and build an efficient institution, Maida recently received a delegation from Meta, formerly Facebook, emphasising the importance of regulatory support for all investors, including operators in Nigeria, and urging them to play by the rules and regulations guiding the sector.

The Meta team solicited NCC’s support in sailing through all necessary legal and regulatory hurdles in landing the submarine cable to complement the existing backbone infrastructure in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that in a recent interview, Tijani explained that Nigeria’s broadband penetration rate will reach 70% by the end of 2025.

Last week, the Kastina State Government keyed into the NCC’s efforts to ensure data accessibility to all Nigerians by waiving the right-of-way charge for telcos to lay fibre optic cables across the state. This is part of the stakeholders’ engagement drive by Maida.

Since he assumed office in October 2023, Maida has made a strong push for quality service. He had said his administration at the regulatory body would not tolerate poor network service, warning the telecom operators to up their game.

In November 2023, he met with stakeholders in the telecom industry in Lagos, admonishing them to improve the quality of service, as the commission will continue to check key performance indicators of the operators.