The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged stakeholders to intensify efforts in the promotion of Nigeria\u2019s indigenous telecommunications sector.
\nExecutive Vice President of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made this known, Friday, during an event organised by the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos.
\nDanbatta, who was represented by the Head of Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector (NODITS), Babagana Digima, said that the development of the indigenous telecommunications sector was vital for the growth of the country.
\nHe said the commission\u2019s policy and regulatory framework had always laid emphasises on the development of effective local participation of the telecoms sector value chain.
\nDanbatta also said the Federal Government had in 2021 launched a national policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content (NPPIC) spearheaded by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, in recognition of the pertinent need to develop indigenous capacity in the telecom sector.
\nHe said to ensure the effective implementation of the NPPIC, the commission articulated several targets and high impact interventions, which were Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based (SMART).
\n\u201cWe have not only identified a number of critical stakeholders in the industry, but we have engaged over 30 different entities ranging from MDAs, Mobile Network Operators and SIM manufacturers and mast manufacturers via Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector.
\n\u201cAt a higher level, the commission had identified some time-based metrics for NPPIC which it classified into immediate, short term, medium term, and long-term items.
\n\u201cSome of the activities includes creation of NODITS dedicated to guiding the policy, constitution of local content steering committee and engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders.
\n\u201cOthers include commissioning baseline studies on the level of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecoms industry, development of regulations, enforcement key performance Indicators and methodologies,\u201d Danbatta said.
\nHe said that transforming the action points into metrics would not only streamline the implementation of the policy but also provide for a SMART system to show progress.
\nDanbatta said the commission was therefore counting on the efforts of industry stakeholders, watchdogs and partners to create independent metrics that would ensure the achievements of the goals of the NPPIC.He said that NCC was delighted to note that some of the actions it implemented through NODITS had yielded fruits.
\nHe continued that to show the commission\u2019s commitment, the NODITS would be hosting its maiden edition of Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2022) today and tomorrow.
\nHe said the theme of the event was: \u201cStimulating Development of Indigenous Content through Innovation and Commercialisation\u201d.
\nAccording to him, the main objective of NTICE 2022 was to promote the four focus areas of the NPPIC in the telecommunications sector which were manufacturing, service, people, research and development for innovation.
\nIn his remarks, Mr Omobayo Azeez, Lead Executive at PIAFo and Covener of the event, said that the telecommunications sector had unarguably become one indispensable economic enabler for the country and its people.<\/p>\n

He said in spite of the commendable trajectory, the sector remains grossly dependent on foreign inputs which at the end of every operating year resulted into capital flights in excess of 2.16 billion dollars.
\nAzeez said \u201cwhen operators had to depend solely on foreign talents, solutions, equipment and accessories, they would also have to deal with the hassle of accessing forex as one of the major problems.
\n\u201cAs such, operators and customers suffer and even our dear Naira is also at a receiving end as it continues to lose value,\u201d he said.
\nHe urged the Federal Government to use its NPPIC to reverse this trend, to enable the telecoms industry and the country grow.
\nThe theme of the event was \u201cEstablishing Trackable Metrics for Developing Nigeria\u2019s Indigenous Telecoms Sector\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged stakeholders to intensify efforts in the promotion of Nigeria\u2019s indigenous telecommunications sector. Executive Vice President of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made this known, Friday, during an event organised by the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos. Danbatta, who was represented by the Head of Nigeria Office for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n