At the 6th edition of the annual awards, which took place in Lagos, the Commission was named The Innovative Telecom Regulator of the Year Award while its Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, was honoured with the Telecom Industry Leader Award.

Speaking after receiving the awards on behalf of the Commission and the EVC, NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, said, the Prof. Danbatta’s leadership has committed to the implementation of progressive policies, plans, strategies, and regulatory initiatives to ensure continuous development of the Nigerian digital economy for the benefits of Nigerians.

He said among several government policies and strategies on the digital economy which the NCC has continued to vigorously drive, include the implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025, through which Broadband penetration has hit 44.5 per cent; and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030, both of which have been streamlined in the NCC’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024, and the Strategic Vision Plan 2021-2025.

He dedicated the awards to the staff of the Commission who are working tirelessly to ensure that the internal processes for effective regulation run smoothly. He promised even deeper commitment to advancing the frontier of digital connectivity in all nooks and crannies of the country.

“Great leadership usually starts with a willing team, a positive attitude, and a desire to make a difference, and our team at NCC has been relentless to see that the Commission’s strategic objectives, as enshrined in the SMP 2020-2024, and other extant policies bring the benefits of a digitised economy to the citizens of Nigeria.

“These wonderful staff, who are my foot soldiers, are tirelessly working to improve stakeholder collaboration, promote innovative regulatory services, and improve communication’s resource and project management. These awards prove that our efforts are visible and appreciated,” he said.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of InstinctWave, organisers of the annual awards, Akin Naphtal, said the two awards went the way of the Commission owing to the recognition of its leadership finesse which has helped in innovatively fulfilling its brand promise to promote a connected environment of endless opportunities.

He said the annual awards, the Nigerian tech ecosystem’s equivalent of Oscar, sets the highest industry standard for honouring organizations and individuals in the telecom and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Africa; and recognises innovative individuals and organisations at the forefront of digitisation that is taking place in Nigeria’s ICT ecosystem and beyond.

Professor Umar Danbatta, The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, stated this on Tuesday in his remarks as he received a delegation of the topmost echelon of the Management of National Economy, a media organisation, that paid a courtesy visit on the Commission at its head office in Abuja.

Speaking through Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, the Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Danbatta said NCC remains irrevocably committed to deepening its already established relationship with media.

Danbatta explained that there is no gainsaying the fact that the Commission, by virtue of its regulatory activities in the telecom ecosystem, occupies a strategic position in the official architecture instituted to enhance national economic development.

The EVC said by the reckoning of stakeholders the Commission has performed well, and it recognises the role of the mass media in its successes.

He noted that the relationship of the Commission with the mass media has been cordial over the years, and the Commission will never take the media for granted nor act in any manner that may rupture the relationship.

Recalling the significance of media support in the accomplishments of NCC, the EVC asserted that, the positive, prominent, accurate, timely and adequate reporting of the Commission by a broad spectrum of the media agency, eased Commission’s burden in putting its activities in the public sphere and enhanced its effort to enlist the support of other key stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem.

The EVC further stated that the Commission has a deliberate policy of constructive engagement with the media and other stakeholders because it understands the centrality of providing a platform for continuous interface toward positioning and projecting the Commission as a flagship public sector brand in Nigeria and a leading light of telecom regulation in Africa and globally.

Danbatta thanked the media for its superlative response in reporting telecoms notable contributions to GDP, particularly the significance of the sectoral feat in taking Nigeria out of recession.

In addition, the EVC recalled with gratitude the noteworthy media reportage of the processes emplaced for the deployment of 5G services in Nigeria, especially the successful auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum for the roll out of the 5G services.

He urged journalists and other communication professionals to amplify Commission’s voice in its publicity and sensitization of  the citizens and all stakeholders on the importance of the new generation network towards the economic development of the nation.

The NCC Chief Executive stated that the Commission looks forward, very enthusiastically, to a robust collaboration with all stakeholders in communication practice, in order to ensure goal-oriented reporting of the unfolding national developments in the digital economy sector, because of the derivable benefits to the citizens, businesses and the nation at large.

While thanking the Management of National Economy for the visit, commendation and support to the Commision over the years, Danbatta also expressed NCC’s commitment to sustaining its favourable relationship with the media.

The delegation from the National Economy was led by Chief Mike Okpare, Vice Chairman. His colleagues the delegation are Kirk Leigh, Chief Operating Officer; Fadilah Ismail, Head of Advertisement; Bayo Amodu, Head of Stories; and Cees Harmon, General Editor.

Danbatta made this declaration while delivering the 10th and 11th combined Convocation Lecture of Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State.

He asserted that the resolve of the Commission to pursue very vigorously a bouquet of ICT programmes focused on the youth is based on the projected opportunity for the youth in the emerging ICT-based labour market.

Danbatta recalled that statistics from Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), have indicated that unique mobile subscriptions are expected to grow up to 5.7 billion by 2025 with concurrent growth in Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) connections, and Internet subscriptions and corresponding growth in operators’ revenue and investment.

The CEO of NCC also said that fourth generation (4G) connections are expected to grow to 57 per cent; Fifth Generation (5G) is also envisaged to have 1.8 billion connections; usage of smartphones are projected to grow to 81 per cent; Internet of Things (IoT) will grow from 13.1 billion to 24 billion connections; and contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the mobile industry is expected to grow by, at least, 5.1 per cent by 2025.

The implications of the foregoing, according to Danbatta, is a huge, incredible opportunity for youth to own businesses.

“Therefore, while NCC is working collaboratively and strategically with its supervising ministry, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, it is also working with young Nigerians to prepare them for harnessing these opportunities for personal and national prosperity. It is this huge prospect that informed NCC to institute a number of initiatives and interventions targeting the youth in a unique and unprecedented institutionalisation of strategic collaboration and partnership,” he said.

The programmes, according to Danbatta, include the ICT Hubs Support and Engagement, which is a forum that brings together key players, actors and the youths in Nigerian tech-ecosystem to deliberate and suggest policy framework and strategies that could further develop the sector to catalyse improved local content in the ICT/telecommunications sector.

There is also the annual ICT Innovation Competition and Exhibition aimed at facilitating sustainable digital start-ups development through a platform to showcase their digital innovative solutions.

Also, the Annual Hackathon is designed to challenge start-ups and tech hubs in Nigeria to produce impactful and sustainable innovative solutions that will address common societal challenges using digital technologies.

Danbatta said the ICT Park Project being built across the six geo-political zones of the country to boost digital skills among young people, promote innovation, provide jobs for young Nigerian and ultimately support the Federal Government Digital Agenda is equally a strategic programme focused on harnessing and optimising the youths’ creative energy for development.

Other related projects in this regard include the NCC National Essay Competition engaging undergraduates in Nigerian tertiary institution to explore and enhance research in tertiary institutions and build capacity.

In addition, the school support programmes which include the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP), a special intervention initiated as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project in response to the digital information knowledge gap observed in the country; as well as the Advanced Digital Appreciation Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI), instituted to bridge the knowledge skill gap in higher institutions of learning, largely target the youth and students.

Accordingly, Danbatta called on the youth to consciously take note of emergent segments in ICT that are available for them to explore. These, according to him, include Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data.

He also enjoined youths and students to pay attention not only to any of those technology segments but also their overlapping variables such as hyper-connectivity, super-computing, cybersecurity, and smarter world such as robotics, 3D printing, and sensors – which are at the heart of the circular economy.

In recognition of the innovative minds of Nigeria’s huge youth population, Danbatta said the NCC had put all the ICT youth empowerment initiatives to support a digitally-skilled workforce that will fit into the Digital Economy Project of Nigeria. “The Commission is committed to fostering partnership and collaboration with the technology hubs and startups, to accelerate innovations and the creation of a digitally-skilled workforce for industrial growth and sustainable development of the nation,” the EVC said.