In a bid to further protect telecoms infrastructure in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has restated its commitment to continue to strengthen collaboration with judicial institutions in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, gave the assurance during a courtesy visit by a high-powered delegation of the Kano State Judiciary to the chief telecom regulator at the NCC Kano Zonal Office, in Kano, over the weekend.

Addressing the judicial delegation, Danbatta said, while the Commission is doing everything within its regulatory mandate to enforce compliance among licensees as well as collaborating with stakeholders to protect telecom infrastructure, some individuals indulge in willful damage of telecom infrastructure, vandalism, telecoms facility theft, and fibre cuts, among other crimes.

He said these criminal acts conspire to degrade the quality of service (QoS) in the country, and since the NCC has no prosecutorial power, the need to strengthen collaboration with the judicial arm of the government at all levels has become expedient.

“NCC does not have prosecutorial power in criminal acts committed by the citizens and licensees which are inimical to the progress of the sector; and we appreciate the ways and manners such criminal cases are being dispensed by the judiciary. This is a testimony to the kind cooperation NCC has been enjoying from the judiciary,” he observed.

According to Danbatta, the Commission will never fold its arms while unscrupulous citizens cause havoc on telecommunications infrastructure since that affects the quality of service innocent citizens enjoy.

“Therein lies the importance of the judiciary in the work that we have been assigned by the government to do. We very much appreciate this cooperation with the judiciary and we are committed to ensure that the cooperation grows stronger and stronger going forward,” he said.

According to him, the recently-concluded NCC Judges Workshop held in Abuja, was a very important initiative of the Commission to continuously collaborate with members of the judicial arm of government through updating them with the trends and regulatory dynamism of the sector with a view to improving their knowledge for effective dispensation of justice.

Earlier in his address, the Chief Registrar of Kano State High Court of Justice, Abdullahi Ado Bayero, who led the delegation, commended the efforts of Prof. Danbatta and NCC in fast-tracking digital transformation of governance and other sectors of the economy, adding that Judiciary, as a whole, has recognised the necessity and inevitability of digital justice system as well as full integration of ICT-based court system in the administration of justice.

He said this position is well entrenched in the National Judiciary Information Technology Policy (NJITP), 2021 and is consistent with the NCC’s objective and strategic intervention to advance ICT knowledge and training for various public institutions in Nigeria.

“It is in line with the above that the Kano State Judiciary is determined to explore all necessary avenues and opportunities to integrate ICT-based court systems as well as digitised justice delivery systems for efficient and effective administration of justice in the state and we request NCC’s intervention in this regard,” he said.

Mr. Tony Ojobo
President
African ICT Foundation

The African ICT Foundation is partnering with the UNESCO to host a stakeholders’ engagement for the advancement of evidence-based policy making of Internet governance
The virtual even, which holds Thursday, July 29th is the first of the Foundation’s partnership with global organizations across to the world to deepened internet penetration in Africa.
The event which is jointly organised by UNESCO Headquarters and the African ICT Foundation, seeks to engage in an extensive partnership with the West African Internet Governance Forum community via the newly launched Dynamic Coalition of IUIs, so as to join forces for advancing evidence-based policy making of Internet governance and fostering digital collaboration in line with UN SG’s roadmap of digital cooperation.
The discussion at the forum will focus on Advancing digital transformation in the West Africa Sub-Region via applying UNESCO’s Internet Universality ROAM Principles and Indicators.
The President of the African ICT Foundation, Mr. Tony Ojobo and the Director for Partnership and Operational Programme Monitoring, UNESCO, Marielza Oliveira will give the opening remark at the event that will be moderated by the West Africa Regional Director at the Foundation, Dr Kossi Amessinou and with the Executive Secretary, Mr. Bassey Emmanuel and the Benin Focal Point Director, Nazaire Hounghihin as rapporteur.s
A statement from the Foundation’s Secretariat, in Lagos South West Nigeria, issued by the Director of Communication, Mr. Isaiah Erhiawarien stated that Internet governance-related issues will be addressed and covered during the session.
According to the statement, the Forum will allow national leading experts from West African Sub-Region countries to present their national assessment projects using Internet Universality Indicators and foster further engagement with West African IGF communities and stakeholders.
UNESCO while inviting stakeholders in the region to join and participate in its newly launched Dynamic Coalition on Internet Universality Indicators, said that the Forum will hold panel discussion with emphasis on knowledge-sharing as well as an interactive session whereby the moderator will allow very short statements from speakers to trigger discussions.
The line-up for the panel discussion are: Chair of Information for All Programme, Ghana, Dorothy Gordon; UNESCO Officer in Dakar, Senegal, Elvis Michel Kenmoe, Benin; Alain Kiyindou, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Niger and Intelligent User lnterfaces Research team leader, Development House, Ghana, Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has exceeded its N36 billion projected revenue from spectrum license fees for 2021, having recorded over N150 billion from this revenue source within the five months of the year.
The figure represents over 400 per cent increase in revenue budget performance in respect of spectrum fees generated by the Commission between January 1 and May 31, 2021, reflecting significant contribution to the revenue drive of the Federal Government.
Accordingly, the N150 billion spectrum revenue achieved in the first half of the year has been remitted to the Federal Government in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, which mandates the Commission to remit proceeds from spectrum resources wholly into the government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
The Commission, in its 2021 Budget which was considered and approved by both chambers of the National Assembly in December, 2020, projected a revenue of N36 billion from spectrum fee for the year 2021 but has remarkably surpassed this estimate.
Over the years, the NCC has put in place an effective regulatory regime which has significantly facilitated advancements in the nation’s telecoms industry, boosted Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and improved the operations of licensees as well as boosted Federal Government’s revenue generation.
Commenting on the revenue performance, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said that the impressive uptick in spectrum fee was the result of the favourable turn of events for the telecom sector, which at the time of preparing the estimates for the 2021 Budget of the Commission was not clear due to the ravaging impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.
Danbatta noted that the 10-year spectrum fees made by some of the major operators directly impacted the projected spectrum fee favourably, adding that the Commission believes that enthronement of effective regulation will continue to improve the general performance of the telecoms sector.
On October 28, 2020, Danbatta told members of House Committee on Telecommunications while on an oversight function to the Commission that the NCC had generated and remitted N344.71 billion to the Federal Government’s CRF in the last five years.
During the oversight visit, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Akeem Adeyemi, commended NCC’s Management for the feat and urged the Commission “to sustain its regime of effective regulation of the telecoms sector in a manner that would be more mutually beneficial to the industry stakeholders, including the consumers of the telecoms services, the operators and the Nigerian government.”

Segun Ogunsanya
Managing Director/CEO
Airtel Nigeria

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the mobile operating license of Airtel Nigeria has not been renewed for another period of 10 years contrary to a statement credited to Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, the Managing Director/CEO of Airtel Nigeria to that effect.
Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs of NCC said in a statement that “while Airtel Nigeria has applied for the renewal of the Universal Access and Service (UASL) License granted to it by the Commission, the application is yet to be approved as it is still undergoing required regulatory process.”
Adinde made it clear that the Commission had to issue the response for the guidance of its stakeholders.
Ogunsanya was alleged to have claimed renewal of Airtel Nigeria’s license in Lagos on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 during the media launch of the mobile operator’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, ‘Touching Lives 6.’