Gabriel Kuma
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has bagged the “Public Sector Regulator of the Year 2021.”
The Neptune Network Nigeria Limited, who conferred the award during the launch of the Lami Fatima Babare Cervical Cancer Awareness Foundation in Abuja said NCC was adjudged winner of the award based on its historic auction of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum in preparation for the deployment of 5G services in Nigeria.
The Chief Executive Officer, of the group, Hassan Gimba said aside the thoroughness and competitiveness, the Commission surpassed it’s initial target by 30%, raising ($273.6 million) from the initial offer of $197.4 million.
“This is not only historically remarkable in terms of organisation, it is commendable because it brought substantial revenue to the coffers of Federal Government to enhance socio-economic development of other sectors in Nigeria”, Gimba said.
Gimba also cited the recognition of its various regulatory efforts and strategic initiatives that have resulted in impressive contribution of the telecommunications industry to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); the remarkable role the Commission has been playing in cybersecurity awareness campaign focused on informing, educating and protecting the teeming telecom consumers from falling victim to the wiles of cyber criminals as other reasons the Commission edged other competitors for the award.
The organisers particularly placed on record the establishment by the NCC of the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), the telecom industry’s sectoral watchdog for cyber threats. The Neptune Network, said it was gratified by the regular alerts to telecoms consumers on any novel cyber threats which were based on the works of CSIRT and the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), the national centre for the coordination of incident response and mitigation strategies for cyber threats.
Gimba commended the Commission under the leadership of Prof. Umar Danbatta, its Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for creating an enabling environment for competition to thrive among operators in the industry and its unwavering commitment in expanding the nation’s frontiers of growth and development through accelerating broadband infrastructure deployment.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Commission, the NCC’s Head of Online Media, Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, thanked the Management of Neptune Network Nigeria Limited for the recognition. He stated that the Commission will not rest on its oars because the award has boosted NCC’s determination to work even more, within the framework of its mandate, for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“On behalf of the Board and Management of the Commission led by our inspiring Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, I convey the gratitude of Commission to the organisers of this event and thank them for this special recognition. The Commission treasures this gesture and sees it as another wake-up call to do more in the effort to unleash the full potential of Nigeria’s digital economy,” Ibietan said.
