Telecom
Automation, Next Stage of Service Delivery in Public Sector – Danbatta
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said leveraging the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to automate service delivery should be the next frontier of excellent service delivery to Nigerians by public institutions.
L: R Bashir Bello, Head, Legislative and Government Relations, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, NCC; Nnenna Akajemeli National Coordinator, Service Compact (SERVICOM); Ngozi Akinbodewa, Team Lead D, SERVICOM, and Clement Dogara, Head of Curriculum, SERVICOM Institute.
Danbatta made the assertion in a goodwill message presented on his behalf by NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, at the opening ceremony of a three-day SERVICOM retreat, which started on December 1, 2021 at the Communications and Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja.
The retreat focused on, ‘Charter Performance Monitoring and Reporting’, was aimed at monitoring the implementation of the NCC’s Client Service Charter, identifying gaps, measuring and evaluating the progress of service delivery in the Commission.
SERVICOM, an acronym derived from Service Compact with all Nigerians, speaks to a special social contract between the Federal Government through its institutions (Ministries, Department and Agencies) and the Nigerian people that ensures services are delivered in a courteous, prompt and efficient manner.
Speaking at the event, attended by staff of NCC, Adinde said the NCC has been living up to its expectation as one of the public institution that has continued to implement the Service Charter with all its various stakeholders. The Director Public Affairs stated that the digital economy drive of the Federal Government should mean that more services be delivered online to the people of Nigeria and in a more efficient manner in line with the philosophy of SERVICOM.
He said the NCC is an important partner of SERVICOM in its journey towards service delivery and excellence, and invited the participants to recall that fact in the passion and commitment of Prof. Danbatta in ensuring that telecom service providers deliver optimal service to varied categories of stakeholders.
“Therefore, from our perspective as regulator of the digital ecosystem in Nigeria, we feel that automation of service should be the next stage of service delivery. While we have started this journey with the example of REMITA, which has brought about a lot of efficiency and transparency into the payment remittances by public and Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of government,” Adinde stated.
On the implementation of the NCC Charter for SERVICOM, Adinde said the NCC boasts of one of the best and brightest brains that could be found in the public sector as civil servants, who are ingrained with good work ethics and culture. “Our staff are renowned for their warmth and geniality when dealing with internal and external stakeholders.
“They work as a team on the principle of achieving Specific Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART) objectives of the Commission,” he said.
Adinde also listed the roles of the Commission in collaborating with other MDAs in various ways, in order to achieve policy objectives of government in many fronts. He also highlighted a number of corporate social responsivity (CSR) projects of the Commission being implemented singly or jointly with other MDAs towards achieving the objective of government to serve the citizenry better.
As a further demonstration of the duty NCC owes telecoms consumers, whose interest must be protected in line with Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, Adinde said NCC created the Consumer Affairs Bureau in September 2001, to ensure consumer protection through policy development and monitoring, advocacy, as well as information and education of all shades of stakeholders.
“Consequently, NCC is one of the few MDAs that has a dedicated toll-free number, designed specifically for the escalation of issues between telecommunications service providers and consumers. We also constantly monitor the Quality of Service (QoS), ensuring that service delivery issues are within the acceptable key performance indicators (KPIs),” Adinde said.
Meanwhile, the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of SERVICOM, Nnena Akajemili, in her remark at the event, commended NCC for contributing to the cultivation of effective communication between the Commission and its various stakeholders for improved service delivery.
Akajemili acknowledged the commitment of NCC towards facilitating major activities, even as she affirmed that the Commission had improved significantly in delivering its key regulatory functions.
Akajemili also observed that NCC went the extra mile in engaging its stakeholders as well as creating affinity between itself and its stakeholders.
Akajemili stated that she was particularly gratified by NCC’s contribution of 11.94 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), based on the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report for the third quarter of 2021.
However, the SERVICOM Chief Executive beseeched the Commission sustain and expand on its collaboration with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) specifically in the area of data management, CSR, Value Added Services (VAS) and short codes, to enhance greater synergy among MDAs.
Bashir Bello, Head, Legislative and Government Relations, NCC and SERVICOM Nodal Officer at the Commission, said SERVICOM, as a service delivery initiative, requires everyone to put in his or her best in achieving desired objectives.
He emphasized the role of Management’s support, education, and commitment towards improving and consolidating the various SERVICOM interventions that had been initiated.
The event was attended by SERVICOM Team leads, departmental liaisons officers in the NCC, SERVICOM rapporteurs, and other staff of the Commission.
Dimension Data has said that the proceeds from its Series 1 corporate bond, will support the expansion of the company’s fibre infrastructure to meet Nigeria’s growing demand for digital connectivity.
This followed the successful subscription of the corporate bond.
Recall that Dimension Data Limited said that it has completed the signing ceremony for the issuance of N4.05 billion (approximately US$2.9 million).
This sum marks the first tranche of a N20 billion (US$14.7 million) bond programme announced earlier this year.
The bond programme was raised under Dimension Data SPV Funding Plc, following approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria.
The company says the proceeds will support the expansion of the company’s fibre infrastructure to meet Nigeria’s growing demand for digital connectivity.
Speaking at the ceremony, Olugbenga Olabiyi, managing director of Dimension Data Limited, said the investment reflects the company’s long-term commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s digital economy.
The planned investments will fund the continued expansion of Dimension Data’s fibre network, supporting increasing demand from financial institutions, fintechs, enterprise customers and other technology-driven sectors.
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Johannesburg, the company has grown its footprint across the Middle East and Africa.
Today Dimension Data is a member of the NTT Ltd Group, one of the world’s leading technology companies.
As cloud adoption, digital financial services and data-intensive applications continue to grow, the company believes resilient fibre infrastructure will remain a critical enabler of Nigeria’s digital economy.
The Federal Government has announced that work will commence within weeks on a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network expected to connect every state, local government area and ward in Nigeria, marking what officials describe as one of the country’s most ambitious digital infrastructure projects.
Dr Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disclosed this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on the progress of three flagship digital transformation initiatives being implemented by his ministry.
According to the minister, all resource mobilisation and contractual processes for the nationwide fibre project have been completed, paving the way for physical deployment.
“We’re now at the point where, in a few weeks’ time, we should start to lay those fibre, so people will start seeing us around the country deploying the fibre. This is going to transform Nigeria for good,” Tijani said.
He explained that the project would deliver fibre optic infrastructure to every geopolitical zone, state, local government area and ward, significantly expanding broadband access and improving the quality of internet connectivity across the country.
“This is a project where every state, every geopolitical zone, every local government and every ward in this country will be covered with fibre optic cables, which will transform the quality of connectivity,” he added.
Bosun Tijani attributed the progress in the digital economy to a series of reforms approved by President Tinubu, including the designation of digital infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure, tariff adjustments and tax harmonisation measures sought by industry operators.
“I think our sector has been extremely fortunate. Mr. President has given us quite a number of things that the sector has been demanding for a long time. Whether it’s the Critical National Infrastructure designation for all digital infrastructure, the slight adjustment in tariff, or the tax harmonisation, these are reforms the industry has long requested.
“I think it’s probably the sector that is most appreciative of this government because when we came in, the sector was contributing between 16 and 18 per cent to our GDP, but today it is tracking close to 21 per cent. That represents significant growth,” he said.
The minister noted that the reforms had also improved the financial performance of major operators in the telecommunications sector.
On efforts to bridge the digital divide, Tijani disclosed that the government would begin deploying about 3,700 telecommunications towers from October to provide network coverage for more than 20 million Nigerians currently living in underserved communities without access to telecom services.
He said the President had approved the project after months of capital mobilisation and planning.
“Today we’re at a point where, before the end of the year, we’ll also start to deploy close to 3,700 towers. It’s taken a lot to put this project together and raise the required capital, but we are now ready to begin deployment around October,” he said.
The minister also announced that Nigeria would officially launch an alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, a move he said would place the country among a select group of nations operating an advanced digital addressing system.
“Nigeria will be amongst maybe 10 or 15 countries in the world with an alphanumeric postcode. It’s the latest design in postcode systems, where we can identify every property in this country. We’re hoping to launch that on the 1st of October,” he said.
Tijani explained that the new system would assign a unique address to every property nationwide, enhancing logistics, accelerating e-commerce, improving emergency response and strengthening public service delivery.
“Inability to locate places comes at a cost. You can imagine what this will do for e-commerce. It means goods can now be delivered in record time,” he said.
He added that integrating the postcode system with existing government identity databases would improve security and make public services more efficient.
“Our alphanumeric postcode is unique because it allows us to assign a unique address to every property. In many countries, such as the UK, postcodes cover clusters of buildings. What we are introducing will uniquely identify every building, and that will be a game changer for Nigeria in terms of security, commerce and public service delivery,” the minister stated.
In a bold move to strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and the digital economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has formally unveiled the National Sovereignty Cloud Initiative (NSCI) Regulatory Instruments, thereby setting a new benchmark for the country’s digital future.
NITDA
The NSCI is a strategic programme of the federal government coordinated by NITDA. It is designed to bolster Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and accelerate the country’s adoption of reliable cloud infrastructure. The initiative consists of the National Computing Guideline, the National Cloud Technical Guideline, the National Digital Infrastructure Assurance Framework, and the National Cloud Investment Strategy.
Speaking during the ceremony in Abuja, the Director General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, described the NSCI as a strategic move to safeguard Nigeria’s digital future. He noted that the instruments will stimulate innovation, encourage investment in local cloud services, and enhance digital resilience.
“These instruments provide the regulatory certainty, technical standards, and assurance framework required to build a trusted cloud ecosystem that safeguards Nigeria’s digital sovereignty while creating new opportunities for investment, innovation, and sustainable economic growth.
“We should position ourselves not to serve Nigeria alone, but to serve West and Central Africa. Nigeria is already the digital gateway to West Africa and can extend to every part of Africa. But we can only realise that goal when we build our infrastructure. So, today’s event is the first step in that direction,” he stated.
Abdullahi appreciated the support of relevant stakeholders and the efforts of the NSCI Technical Working Group, which culminated in the successful development of the regulatory instruments. He emphasised that collective action of regulatory agencies is necessary for a seamless implementation of the initiative.
Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Engr. Nadungu Gagare, declared that the launch of the NSCI underscores the federal government’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s data borders and digital economy.
“By ensuring that government data remains strictly within national jurisdiction and under local operational control, we are guaranteeing data sovereignty and regulatory compliance. It will catalyse local cloud capacity, foster local job creation, and empower indigenous investors and innovators to build solutions on a secure, locally hosted foundation,” Gagare said.
The Permanent Secretary commended the management team of NITDA, the NSCI Technical Working Group, and other stakeholders for their collaborative spirit in driving the initiative. He promised that the Ministry would ensure that the strategic objectives of the NSCI are fully realised across all ministries, departments, and agencies.
In a message, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Olayemi Cardoso, congratulated NITDA for promoting a collaborative approach, adding that modern digital regulation succeeds through coordinated regulatory actions for common national objectives.
Cardoso, who was represented by Dr. Rakiya Opemi Yusuf, the Director of the Payment System Supervision Department, acknowledged that the launch testifies to the robust collaboration existing between the apex bank and other government institutions.
“CBN regulates the financial ecosystem. NITDA provides the national framework for digital infrastructure, cloud governance and assurance. These responsibilities are complementary, not competing. Together, they create a coherent national architecture.
“Together with NITDA, and with the continued cooperation of industry, we will continue to build an ecosystem that protects Nigeria’s financial system today and positions our nation as Africa’s trusted hub for digital finance and cloud innovation.
One of the most encouraging aspects of today’s event is the strong institutional collaboration between NITDA, the CBN, and other relevant government institutions. This collaboration demonstrates an important principle.”
Cardoso reiterated that as a responsive regulator, the CBN remains committed to providing clear expectations, firm principles, proportionate implementation, and constructive engagement with all stakeholders to position Nigeria as Africa’s trusted hub for digital finance and cloud innovation.
Also, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, noted that the NSCI couldn’t have come at a better time than now, especially considering CBN’s recent directive mandating banks and financial institutions to localise their data.
Adeyanju expressed confidence that the initiative would push the ecosystem to greater heights by encouraging investment, developing indigenous talent, and creating employment opportunities akin to the gains brought by the deregulation of the telecoms sector.
NITDA will constitute the Sovereign Cloud Governance Committee (SovGov) within the next two weeks to oversee the implementation of the NSCI. The committee would comprise representatives from relevant Government institutions, sector regulators, industry, and the private sector, with NITDA serving as the Secretariat
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