Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami.
By CALLISTUS OFFOR, Abuja –
The Federal Government has pledged to provide an enabling environment through strategic national policies and developmental regulations that would enable private sectors to thrive in the country.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, disclosed this on Tuesday.
He was spesking during the joint launch of the Nigeria Communications Commission’s (NCC) Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, NCC podcast and compendium, at the Communications and Digital Economy Complex in Mbora District, Abuja.
The event provided NCC the opportunity of showcasing its strides and relentless endeavors in executing the Commission’s mandate in terms of regulating the telecom sector.
The Minister, who commended the NCC management for the three initiatives, which he said are in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to strengthen the country’s economy, however noted that since the private sector controls the country’s economy with more than 91% of the national aggregate demands, there was need to support the sector to be more effective creating wealth and job opportunities.
Pantami, who was recently promoted professor of cyber security, noted that the performance of the ICT sector in the 2nd quarter of year by providing 17.90% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was unprecedented in the history of Nigeria, just as he appreciated all stakeholders for their efforts so far.
On his part, The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, explained that the strategic vision (implementation) plan would facilitate broadband penetration, improve the quality of service, promote ICT investments, fair competition as well as strategic collaboration and partnerships.
“To ensure strong commitment to its Implementation, the new SVP also has inbuilt initaliatives, key performance indicators developed from inception and activities tied to an implementation responsibility matrix”.
“It also incorporate timelines and a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism. It is equally outcome-based and recommendation-driven with follow up actions to guide the commission in operationalizing the plan and assessing its performance over time”. He said.
The EVC also noted that the new SVP, would contain several innovative elements deliberately designed to re-invent and transform the Telecom ecosystem within the context of regulation.
He noted that the establishment of podcast channel “NCC Global Connect” is in line with its strategic initiatives to boost the corporate image and visibility of the commission via the adoption of innovative channels of communication to reach out to various stakeholders within and outside the country.
While highlighting the importance of the official compendium that represents a collection of various speeches and presentations made in the past, Prof. Danbatta said it capture the successes and challenges of the Nigerian communication sector.
“The book has been captioned: Catalysing Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Transformation through Broadband Infrastructure, to underscore the centrality of broadband in our journey to a modern digital economy”. He explained.
Prof. Danbatta, however, assured the commission would continue to live up to its mandate in facilitating broadband deployment which is central to diversifying the Nigeria economy and for national development in line with the National Digital Economy agenda.
Highlights of the event include various presentations by key speakers, launching of the new Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, unveiling of the official compendium of Danbatt’s first tenure in office as EVC, as well as launching the new media channel- “NCC Global Connect.”
There event was also witnessed by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Communication, Prince Akim Adeyemi; MD/CEO of Galaxybackbone, Prof. M.B Abubakar; Chairman, NCC Governing Board and; Professor Adeolu Akande, Mr. Bitrus Bako, among other top government functionaries.