As Maida Rolls Up Sleeves To Tackle Challenges In ICT Sector

Following his confirmation as the new executive vice-chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) by the House of Senate, Dr. Aminu Maida’s first move was to have an interactive session with operators in the industry.
It was indeed an interactive session as different stakeholders in the industry were given the opportunity to highlight their challenges while proffering solutions to them.
For the licensed operators in the ICT sector, their challenges, which range from multiple taxation, Right-of-Way (RoW), vandalism, to USSD debts, among others, have been on the ground for decades, even as they express optimism that these challenges would be effectively tackled during Maida’s regime.
Speaking on their behalf, the chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, appealed to Maida to begin his regime by addressing the bank-telcos Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt dispute, which he said has risen to over N200 billion.
“We wish you could easily help us resolve the issue of the USSD debts the banks are owing us. Banks’ indebtedness to telcos has now risen to over N200 billion. You have to look into that. Nobody is going to forget or write off that debt. It’s a challenge for you, sir,” he pleaded.
Other issues that require urgent attention are the interconnect debt among the operators and reviewing the tariff structure as the current charges are no longer sustainable with the current economic situation, ALTON chairman posited.
“The present price regime is not sustainable, considering the prevailing conditions of the economy and cost of operations. It is high time we allowed independent bodies to look at it, with a view to reviewing it upwards for our members to recoup operational costs.
“The quality of service in Abuja is poor, but it has to do with difficulties in upgrading services there due to policies. You have to liaise with FC Minister Nyesom Wike to make regulations easy for us to upgrade facilities,” he added.
While welcoming the new EVC, Adebayo, however, assured that operators will work with Maida to ensure a successful administration.
In his reaction, Maida told operators that he has noted their concerns while assuring that he will address the issues one after the other.
“I want to thank the various associations in the ICT sector for their active engagement and for facilitating industry sustainability. I acknowledge the critical role that you all have played in ensuring the sustainability of the sector.
“I have listened to almost all the groups and associations in the sector. I had heard their cries. We cannot run away from the fact that the current time we live in is very challenging, but at the same time, humanity is always at its best when there are challenges.
“We at NCC, recognise these challenges and like I have interacted with some of you, these are challenges that are affecting all sectors of the economy. The federal government is aware of these challenges and is putting in structures that will guide the critical role that the sector is going to play in achieving the goals set out by the federal government of Nigeria.
“We also need to stand up and show that this sector can actually move this country forward, despite the challenges that we face. So I urge all of you to get acquainted with ourselves, let us think about how we are going to work and I am 100 per cent sure that we can tackle some of the challenges, if not all. We know there are different challenges that are pulling us down, but we must rise up to tackle them,” he stated.
As a regulator, Maida reminded operators of the rules of the game while demanding transparency from them. He urged operators to focus their direction on Quality of Service (QoS), as he will not tolerate any excuses from them.
“My top priorities are to improve coverage and connectivity by bridging access gaps between rural and urban communities through increased broadband infrastructure as well as increasing the QoS and quality of experience (QoE) for the consumers to enable them to get value for money.
“The service we render is a social service and as such, we must see it as water and electricity that man cannot do without. We should begin to see the industry as one that delivers excellence. The Tech industry must deliver excellence, end of story. We must come together as an industry to brainstorm on how we can deliver QoS to all Nigerians irrespective of where they are. I am going to be asking a lot from you, but hopefully, we are in a relationship where we can benefit from each other,” the EVC stated.
He reiterated his commitment to supporting the vision of the federal government and the Ministry of Communications, Innovations, and Digital Economy while urging operators to do the same.
Operators must key into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda to advance the nation’s digital transformation agenda. “Everything that we do in this sector has to align directly with the Strategic Plan of the Hon. Minister of Communications, Innovations, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani and ultimately to the Renewed Hope agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We would not deviate from that.
“We would not entertain anything that deviates from this direction because my Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are fed into the minister’s KPIs and the president’s KPIs come from the electorate that put him into power. The minister has said clearly that he is ready to build a robust digital infrastructure and empower three million Nigerians digitally, and we have to do our best to support him in this regard.”
He further averred that, in the Strategic Plan of the minister, there was a plan to empower three million Nigerians in digital skills and entrepreneurship, adding that this will require the Commission to support Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) as a digital training institution, to be well positioned in driving the government’s agenda on youth empowerment.
The EVC also emphasized the importance of effective spectrum management and utilisation in supporting the envisioned digital connectivity agenda, which is critical to service deployment to the generality of Nigerians and businesses in the country.
Maida, however, promised to create a more conducive environment for investment in the sector, even as he promised to inject new thinking into how the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) would be leveraged to bridge the digital divide in the country.
He assured operators of the federal government’s support. “The federal government of Nigeria sees the ICT sector as a critical sector of the economy, and I have the assurance from the government that we will get all the support. However, we have to pay back by ensuring that the economy grows,” he added.