- Stakeholders call for the issuance of Executive Orders to tackle intractable bottlenecks of Multiple Taxation, Right of Way and others.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo GCON, SAN, has said the Federal Government will continue to act forthrightly to contain the challenges bedevilling telecom services in Nigeria in order to ensure that any Nigerian yet to access affordable broadband services enjoys same sooner.
The Vice President stated this yesterday while presenting a speech as the Special Guest of Honour at the Nigerian Telecom Leadership Summit held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Represented by the Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Presidency, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, the Vice President said the role of telecom as an enabler of better services in other sectors as well as its increasing contribution to GDP demonstrates its centrality among the geese that lay the golden eggs. The Vice President said this realisation informed the issuance of some Executive Orders by the Federal Government to enable those transacting businesses in Nigeria to do so with ease irrespective of the sector in which they are participating. He promised the support of the Federal Government towards all efforts designed to bridge the digital divide and enhance greater inclusion of citizens in the ongoing digital transformation process, particularly to NCC as the Commission mobilises all stakeholders to achieve the laying of 120,000 Kilometres of fibre optics in Nigeria.
The Chairman NCC Board of Commissioners, Otunba Olabiyi Durojaiye, in his welcome remark had earlier recalled the significance of telecom and its connection with the performance of other sectors of the economy and solicits the support of all sectoral players to reposition the Nigerian telecom industry. He noted that NCC "encourages, weighs and takes along every useful view and opinion expressed" and therefore "receptive and appreciative of innovative ideas".
Professor Umar Danbatta, NCC's Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive, also in his introductory speech said the Commission convened the summit to enable stakeholders appraise the performance of the industry, share experiences and project into the future, and that explained the choice of the theme of the forum - Repositioning the Nigerian Telecom Industry for the Future: Prospects and Challenges.
Danbatta said that the NCC "has taken a deep and predictive look at the financial health of our industry; the aspiration of Nigeria in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution...and demand for expanded frontiers of availability, accessibility and affordability...and reached a conclusion that investments are very critical for our future growth". To demonstrate the significance of broadband to development, he affirmed that the leading broadband centres are also among the leading industrial centres and he recalled the World Bank findings showing the correlation between growth in broadband penetration and increase in GDP.
Although the broadband penetration is currently 33.7 percent and telecom now contributes 10.11 percent of Nigeria's GDP, Danbatta said NCC is determined to increase the growth and that explained why Facilitating Broadband Penetration remains the flagship of the Commission's 8-Point Agenda. He said NCC will continue to engage all relevant stakeholders in its determination to tackle the challenges of telecommunication in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Summit's over 300 delegates drawn from every facet of the telecom ecosystem and other stakeholders, including former Dr. Omobola Johnson, former Minister of Communication Technology unanimously reasoned that considering the significance of the digital culture to growth and development, the Federal Government should consider issuing an Executive Order to address the protection of telecom infrastructure as a critical national asset, and particularly to address the issues stymieing the growth of telecommunication in Nigeria such as multiple taxation. The President of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) said 39 different forms of taxes and levies have been identified by ALTON and many of them are unnecessary as well as painfully and ironically discriminatory against telecommunication.
The 2-Day forum is attended by Babatunde Fowler, Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service; Modibbo Kawu, Director General National Broadcasting Commission; Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission; lead paper presenters - Dr. Doyin Salami, Associate Professor at the Lagos Business School; and Professor Fabian Ajogwu SAN; CEOs and other Management staff of telecommunication companies, other industry stakeholders including Olu Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); and Chijioke Eze, President, Wireless Applications Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN).