BY TAIWO ADELU
Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has said that the Commission will, at all times, be acting within the law that set it up to regulate the telecommunication industry in the country.
According to Maida, the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 is clear enough on what is expected of the stakeholders in the industry, hence the need for all to act within the ambit of the law.
While speaking at a forum held recently in Abuja, the NCC boss said: “Compliance is another driver we will focus on. As a regulator that is empowered by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, we have the power to hold our licensees to their obligations.
“We have laid down obligations for our licensees to meet and we will ensure they uphold those obligations.”
Dr. Maida, however, said that onus now fell on the NCC, as the regulators, to be up and doing, adding that “this will require more work on the part of we the regulators.”
To meet up, he disclosed that the NCC will make use of digital technology as it is being practiced in the advanced countries of the world.
“So, we will be deploying digitalization to enable us work efficiently. For instance, we are working toward renewing licences digitally,” he said.
Dr. Maida said he believes in the marketing parlance that consumers are kings, and to this end, he revealed that the NCC will also be looking at the issues being raised by consumers across the country so that their grievances would be adequately taken care of for them to enjoy value for their money.
“As a regulator, we are going to be stepping in to see what the common issues that consumers are complaining about and what operators are doing about them, so that we can hold everybody along the value chain accountable.
“We are going to be working with our licensees to see how tariff can be simpler and more transparent,” he said.
