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By Emmanuel Adeleke
A delegation from ipNX, led by the Group Managing Director, Ejovi Aror, has commended the management of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its superlative regulatory activities, describing the commission’s actions efficient and effective.
A statement by the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said Aror hinted about the company’s plan to expand its operations in Nigeria, in a way that will heighten the role of the telecoms sector in the growth of the Nigerian economy.
The Group Managing Director of ipNX, further explained that the operation of the company has come to a critical juncture and ipNX is happy to move from the stage where it is now to a more strategic stage where it will play a greater role.
He said: “We are here to solicit your support for our plan to expand our businesses because we are at the threshold of closing a chapter and moving onto another, particularly in expanding broadband infrastructure which is critical to national development.”
Aror also informed the management of NCC about some of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, which according to him, is the free internet access to schools in Lagos and Oyo States.
Responding, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM), Adeleke Adewolu, appreciated ipNX for the visit and for the testimony about how the commission’s regulatory activities have caused growth in leaps and bounds in the fortunes of the telecoms ecosystem.
Adewolu said that NCC is particularly happy for the remarkable and quantifiable impact of the bbcommission’s activities on the economy, including increase in the sectoral contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The commissioner vowed that the words of encouragement from ipNX’s delegation will spur the NCC to put in more efforts towards achieving its mandate.
He also said the courageous deregulation and liberalisation of the telecoms sector by the Federal Government in the year 2000 was a masterstroke, adding that the action triggered uncommon liberalisation that caused a rare leap in the democratisation of access to telephone services, from a few hundred hitherto existing fixed lines in 1992 to over two hundred million subscriptions today.
The ECSM also informed the visitors that the commission, with the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is ready and willing to partner with stakeholders to accomplish the objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030; and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025.
Adewolu, reckoning the correlation between increase in broadband infrastructure and GDP of economies, asserted that the management of NCC is all out to work with all stakeholders, including its licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos), to expand broadband access, especially to the unserved and underserved areas of the country.
At the reception of ipNX delegation were other management staff of the commission including Deputy Director, Licensing and Authorisation, Usman Mamman; Special Assistant on Legal Matters to the EVC, Afure Iloka; Head, Online Media l, Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, who represented Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde; Assistant Director, Licensing and Authorisation, Abubakar Kurfi; and the Special Assistant to the ECSM, Quassim Odunmbaku.
Aror, was accompanied on the visit by the Group Executive Director, Commercials, ipNX, Bimpe Olaleye; Divisional CEO, ipNX Infrastructure Division, Uche Nnakenyi; and Financial Controller, ipNX, Tunde Olorunyomi.