CSO Lauds NCC's milestones, reforms in positioning Nigeria's communication sector

By Dansu Peter 

The Citizens Watch Africa (CWA) has applauded Dr Aminu Maida for his efforts to revamp the telecommunications sector since his appointment as the EVC/ CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The group, at a press conference on Tuesday, said Maida has introduced laudable reforms to boost the confidence of stakeholders in the sector, translating to more investments in critical telecoms infrastructure. 

In his address, convener of the group, Hon. Pastor Dave Ogbole said it came to this conclusion after an extensive scrutiny of the operations of the NCC in the last six months. 

Ogbole said there has been a renewed drive to promote transparency and accountability by the NCC leadership led by Maida. 

“This has consequently led to an improvement in the organization's governance processes. The takeaway from this new drive is the disposition by the leadership of the NCC to ensure a level playing ground for all players in the sector,” he added. 

“Citizens Watch Africa states that the new drive at the NCC has indeed re-positioned the agency for improved productivity. This has been evident in the various stakeholder engagement initiatives where feedback is gathered and examined to improve the sector.

 “We are using this medium to commend the leadership of the NCC. It is highly dedicated and committed to delivering on its key mandate. The new drive at the NCC has led to a steady increase in active voice and internet subscriptions, including a drop in teledensity. 

“It is instructive to state that the nation's teledensity dropped from 115.63% to 102.30% in September. Broadband penetration dropped from 45.47% to 40.85% in the same month. The active voice subscription statistics witnessed a marginal growth from 220,715,961 to 221,769,883 as of September 2023. In addition, Internet subscriptions also enjoyed a marginal increase, from 159,034,717 in August 2023 to 160,171,125 in September 2023.

“These are indicators of the renewed commitment by the NCC leadership to revamp the sector. Citizens  Watch Africa salutes the dexterity and passion of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida. He hit the ground running with laudable policies to re-position the telecoms industry for optimal productivity. “

The group, however, encouraged Maida to continue to provide excellent leadership required at this critical point of our existence towards our drive for sustainable growth and development.