Telecom
NITDA Affirms Stakeholder Engagement in Re-Enacting the NITDA Act, 2007
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has began to rally ICT stakeholders and the general public on the process of repealing and re-enacting the NITDA Act, 2007 which is designed to ensure that Nigeria benefits maximally from the global digital economy.
Mrs Hadiza Umar, head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, NITDA disclosed this in a statement released on Monday, in Abuja.
According to the statement, “the need to repeal the existing Act became necessary with the launch of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), which effectively replaced the Nigerian National IT Policy, 2000.
“You may recall that the vision of the National IT Policy was to make Nigeria an IT capable country by 2005. We can all attest that Nigeria has gone beyond the vision of using IT but aiming to become the digital economy capital of Africa.
“Furthermore, since the enactment of the NITDA Act 2007, NITDA has operated as the catalytic Government Agency for developing and regulating the Information Technology sector.
“However, in light of recent advancements in Information Technology and the shift in the global economy paradigm, the NDEPS was envisioned to “transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy, providing quality life and digital economies for all”.
“This current reality has necessitated the reimagination for the establishment of NITDA. It is a known fact that digital technologies have created new forms of economic activities that have been beneficial to the global economy.
“However, these digital technologies comes with their promises and perils such as cybercrimes, privacy invasion and other social problems. This necessitates the need to proactively manage their adoption through the development of a stakeholder-led robust regulatory architecture to enable Nigeria to maximise the benefits of such technologies and mitigate the negative consequences.
“Therefore, the need for a more agile and practical approach to regulations, standards-setting, and guidelines development for the country, with a focus on digital and emerging technologies, cannot be overemphasised.
“Based on the foregoing, we identified the need to update NITDA’s legal framework for regulating and developing a digital economy for Nigeria. The Agency’s current establishment law is outdated. It cannot meet the needs and requirements for supporting a digital economy as well as effectively protect the rights and interests of stakeholders in the digital world.
“The review of the NITDA Act 2007 aims to address contemporary digital issues, revamp Nigeria’s economy, build trust and protect the rights and interests of players in the ecosystem.
“Furthermore, the review of the NITDA Act 2007 would serve as an enabler for the growth and development of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Some of the highlights of the repeal include the following, amongst others, creating a framework for:
1.Promoting the startup ecosystem;
2.Promoting indigenous products and services through standardisation;
3.Collaborating with the requisite public and private sector partners to carry out activities that will assist in electronic waste disposal;
4.Fostering collaboration to facilitate the implementation of robust cybersecurity measures aimed at building trust in Nigeria’s digital economy;
5.Facilitating capacity building through the digital literacy and skills initiative;
6.Entrenching stakeholder participation in developing regulations through the rule-making process; and
7. Promoting the safe use of digital technologies, including social media, for the attainment of national objectives.
“The IT sector and general public will attest to the fact that NITDA has recorded unprecedented achievements in the past few years despite the limitations of the current establishment law.
“Some of these include: facilitating the substantial contribution of the ICT sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), contributing 17.92% in the second quarter of 2021, catalysing job creation and igniting innovative activities in the tech ecosystem; the implementation of the IT Project Clearance initiative that supported the Federal Government’s fight against corruption.
“This has resulted in over 22.45 Billion Naira saving and has significantly increased local content consumptions by over 300% in 4 years. NITDA currently registered 1573 indigenous companies to enforce local content through IT Clearance;
the introduction and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), subsidiary legislation enshrined to ensure data protection and privacy of Nigerian citizens.
“The NDPR is the first of its kind in Africa, serving as a source of reference for other African countries. It also facilitated the creation of a new industry valued at around 3.4 Billion Naira, stimulated new business models, and empowered thousands of Nigerians through capacity building and skills development. It also facilitated the creation of over 2,818 new jobs in the industry; executing strategic global initiatives in the innovation ecosystem such as MIT-Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration programme (MIT REAP), Bridge to MassChallenge and Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Innovation to foster the growth and success of startup enterprises, facilitate key strategies to compliment innovation initiatives and accelerate economic growth and job creation through Innovation Driven Enterprises; andstrategic deployment of digital literacy, skills and entrepreneurship initiatives resulting in building capacities of millions of Nigerians and the emergence of new economic sectors like Fintech, e-Commerce, Venture Capital Investment, Business Process Outsourcing, and robust software industry.
“The proposed NITDA Bill aims to create a regulatory framework to accelerate Nigeria into the digital economy and substantially catalyse prosperity. This will include promoting and implementing policies that support indigenous content, access to digital services, investments in the sector, adoption of emerging technologies, innovation, research and development, with a particular focus on the rights of citizens and national interest.
“NITDA, as the apex regulator of the IT sector, will leverage the proposed NITDAs Bill to extensively engage with crucial IT stakeholders and protect its stakeholders’ interests in the best possible way. However, this can only be achieved through more excellent connectivity and collaboration by registration and licensing processes.
“Considering the importance of the NITDA proposed Bill. The Bill will be presented to the National Assembly as an Executive Bill. The process of Executive Bill is as follows: the Agency initiated the process by sending the initial draft to its supervisory Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, for policy review; the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy perform the policy review; upon completion of the policy review, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy conveys the initial draft Bill to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Office for legal drafting and statutory review; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Office will revert with their legal opinion to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy;NITDA will engage all IT stakeholders in line with the Rulemaking Process of the Agency; NITDA will send the updated draft Bill to its supervisory Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy; the Bill will be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and upon approval, the President will transmit the Bill to the National Assembly for the enactment process, which will include public hearings and more stakeholder engagements; and upon passage by the National Assembly, it will be transmitted to the President for assent.
“As an accountable Agency, NITDA assures Information Technology sector stakeholders as well as the general public that the process will be transparent and subjected to comprehensive stakeholder engagements. We, therefore, count on the support of Nigerians towards the successful passage of the Bill and eventual signing into law. This will undoubtedly help towards ensuring that Nigeria harnesses the potentials of the ever-expanding digital economy,” the statement concluded.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has asked the Court of Appeal to suspend the enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations).
WASPAN warned that the implementation before the determination of its appeal could expose telecom value-added service providers to sanctions and disrupt their operations.
Millions of subscribers across the country rely on borrowed airtime to communicate.
Seun Sofoluwe, an Abeokuta, Ogun State resident, said another interruption would have severe consequences for many Nigerians who depend on airtime and data lending services for their daily communication needs.
“A lot of people depend on the services, and it will be very bad for them, especially those who are so reliant on it that they do debt-to-debt servicing,” he said.
Debt-to-debt servicing refers to the practice of repaying an outstanding airtime loan immediately to qualify for another advance, underscoring the extent to which some subscribers depend on the facility to remain connected.
Sofoluwe’s concerns echo the experience of Lagos-based employee Farouk Rabiu, who recounted the hardship caused by the six-month suspension of airtime lending services before they were restored.
“I was devastated because, after exhausting my data, I was hoping to borrow credit to access my bank account. Instead, it was a major disappointment,” Rabiu had said after the services resumed.
Adding another dimension to the debate, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the earlier disruption showed that airtime credit had evolved far beyond a conventional telecommunications offering.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” Adebayo said.
WASPAN, which represents licensed value-added service providers, has asked the Court of Appeal to restrain the FCCPC from enforcing the DEON Regulations pending the hearing of its appeal against the July 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The association argued that immediate enforcement would expose operators to sanctions, create regulatory uncertainty and disrupt telecom-enabled services, including airtime credit and data advances, used daily by millions of Nigerians.
The FCCPC, however, has defended the resumption of enforcement, insisting the regulations are intended to sanitise the digital lending industry, curb predatory debt recovery practices, protect consumer data and eliminate illegal digital lenders.
The Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether enforcement of the regulations should remain suspended while it considers WASPAN’s appeal, a decision that could shape the future of telecom-based digital lending services and determine whether subscribers continue to enjoy uninterrupted access to airtime and data credit.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have entered into a partnership to deploy renewable energy solutions for telecommunications infrastructure in rural and underserved communities, a move expected to reduce operators’ energy costs and improve network availability.
Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner for Technical Services at the NCC, disclosed this during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Abuja.
According to Oshadami, the NCC-REA Stakeholder Forum and MoU signing ceremony will enable telecom base stations located near mini-grids to access cleaner and more affordable electricity, reducing their reliance on diesel-powered generators.
He said the agreement came at a time when telecom operators are facing rising operational costs due to increased spending on diesel to power network sites amid unreliable electricity supply from the national grid.
The partnership reflects the growing relationship between the power and telecommunications sectors, as both rely on each other to deliver essential services.
Oshadami explained that while telecom infrastructure requires a steady power supply to remain operational, digital connectivity also supports electricity services such as smart metering, electronic payments and remote customer management.
According to him, the collaboration is aimed at improving access to reliable electricity and telecommunications services, particularly in remote communities where inadequate power supply has slowed digital inclusion.
He said both agencies had identified telecom base stations located within one to two kilometres of existing mini-grids, allowing the implementation of the initiative to begin immediately.
“Where mini-grids exist, we are able to identify nearby base stations and connect them to those power sources,” Oshadami said.
He added that future mini-grid projects would be planned with telecommunications infrastructure in mind, ensuring that electricity investments also support the expansion of digital services.
Telecom
Ex-Pan African Towers CEO Alleges DPI, Verod Using Court Suit to Pressure Him in $30m Buyout Dispute
A fresh twist has emerged in the legal disputes surrounding the acquisition of Pan African Towers (PAT), with the company’s former Chief Executive Officer, Azeez Amida, alleging that a lawsuit filed against him is retaliatory and intended to pressure him over an ongoing $30 million management buyout dispute.
Pan African Towers
The allegation is contained in Amida’s Statement of Defence and Witness Statement filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos in response to claims instituted by Pan African Towers.
According to the court filings, Amida argued that the latest suit should be viewed within the context of several pending disputes involving the company’s shareholders, including Development Partners International (DPI), Verod Capital Growth Fund III LP and African Development Partners International LLP.
The defence stated that Amida had already commenced separate legal proceedings against the investors over the management buyout transaction, seeking damages exceeding $30 million, while also pursuing claims against Pan African Towers arising from a Mutual Separation Agreement executed after his departure from the company.
He alleged that instead of filing substantive responses to those actions, Pan African Towers initiated fresh proceedings at the Federal High Court over expenditure approvals and procurement decisions made during his tenure as chief executive.
Amida maintained that the action was retaliatory and intended to exert pressure on him in relation to the earlier disputes.
The defence further explained that he had deliberately distanced himself from final expenditure approvals during his time as CEO because of disagreements over procurement practices and governance issues involving the board and shareholders.
According to the filings, following the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), financial approval responsibilities were structured to ensure the CFO retained final approval authority, while the CEO’s role was limited to endorsing requests that had already undergone departmental reviews.
The defence argued that many of the transactions now being challenged were processed through that governance framework, with approvals passing through the Finance and Human Resources departments before payment.
It added that the CFO, who remains with the company and has since been promoted, exercised the final approval authority over the disputed expenditures.
Amida also contended that the transactions cited in the lawsuit were not unilateral decisions but formed part of the company’s established governance and approval procedures involving multiple departments, executive management and, where necessary, the board.
According to the defence, documentary evidence, including internal emails, approval workflows and payment records, would be presented during the trial to support those claims.
The filings further stated that hospitality expenses, investor engagement costs and related business expenditures challenged in the suit were incurred in the ordinary course of business, known to directors and shareholders, reimbursed through established procedures and reflected in the company’s audited financial statements.
Amida also argued that the allegations only surfaced after his exit from the company despite extensive internal reviews conducted before both parties executed a Mutual Separation Agreement in November 2024.
He maintained that the agreement required any allegations of misappropriation unrelated to released assets to be investigated, supported by credible evidence and communicated to him within six months, with an opportunity to respond before legal proceedings could commence.
In a separate application, Amida challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, arguing that the dispute arose from his employment relationship and the Mutual Separation Agreement, matters he said fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court.
He also argued that a related case remains pending before the National Industrial Court and that the Federal High Court proceedings amount to an abuse of court process.
The defence indicated that it would rely on a range of documentary evidence during the trial, including audited financial statements, board communications, internal approval emails, banking records, employment documents, shareholder communications and the Mutual Separation Agreement.
The Federal High Court is yet to rule on the substantive claims or the preliminary jurisdictional objections.
While Pan African Towers’ allegations remain before the court, Amida has denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the action forms part of a broader pattern of litigation connected to the acquisition of the company.
The court is expected to determine the merits of the claims after hearing both parties.
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