Danbatta: Telecom Sector is Key to Digital Economy

Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the telecom industry is the most critical stakeholder in the development of a credible national database in the digital economy ecosystem.
Danbatta said at the ALTON 2021 Webinar that 37 percent of the NIN enrolment achieved in eight years was accompanied by leveraging the telecommunications sector in Nigeria.
“It is our target to achieve 65percent NIN penetration in coming months to unlock the economic potential of the digital economy. NIN penetration now is 29.7 percent of the population with the deployment of the Android Enrolment Solution by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).”
The NCC Chief said the NIN-SIM database has grown to 63 million as at August 2021 while the subscriber base has equally climbed to 187 million.
“The NIN Policy for SIM Registration is perhaps the most effective driver of NIN enrolment and the development of a credible digital identity database. The Commission as the telecommunications regulator will continue to guide and support the industry by providing the necessary regulatory framework to ensure growth of the digital identity and digital economy ecosystem.”
The theme of the webinar was: Citizens Identity Management in a Digital Economy: The Role Telecommunication Service Providers.