The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Danbatta, has restated the Commission’s commitment to making the mass media as strategic stakeholders in its commitment to delivering on its regulatory mandates as enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003 and other policy instruments.
Danbatta gave this assurance when a delegation of the management of National Economy, a media organisation, paid a courtesy visit on the Commission in Abuja.
The Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, who received the delegation on behalf of the EVC, quoted him as sayingthat NCC remained irrevocably committed to deepening its already established relationship with media.
Danbatta said the Commission, by virtue of its regulatory activities in the telecom ecosystem, occupied a strategic position in the official architecture instituted to enhance national economic development.
The EVC said by the reckoning of stakeholders, the Commission had performed well and recognised the role of the mass media in its successes, adding 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 explained that the Commission had 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.
For instance, the industry regulator recalled 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 continue to amplify the 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 EVC expressed the Commission’s appreciation to the newspaper’s management for the visit and the support to the Commission over the years.
