The Nigerian Communications Commission has said that the telecommunication industry has the potentials to contribute as much as 25% to the nation’s Gross Domestic product GDP come year 2025.
The Telecoms regulator affirmed this at the maiden edition of Telecom CEO Impact Meeting recently held in lagos where top ICT players met to discuss way forward in the sector.
Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, represented by the Commission’s Public Affairs Director , Mr. Tony Ojobo noted that the present quota of telecom sector to the GDP which stands at 11 is not the best the nation can get from the huge sector.
“Some factors are still threatening Telecoms growth in the country and this must be fully attended to if the country wants massive harvest in the industry”.The EVC noted.
He listed the impediments to include: arbitrary and unfriendly taxes; exhorbitant Right of Way (RoW) levies; vandalism; fibre cuts, among others.
He added that the commission was at the forefront of phasing out the challenges which informed its present engagement with Governor’s Forum as to deal with the issue of infrastructure deployment such as fiber optic cables, base transceiver stations (BTS).
He reaffirmed the body’s commitment to continue to provide the enabling environment that would guarantee the attainment of 25 per cent predictions by year 2025.
“It is our wish that this dream of 25 per cent contribution to the nation’s GDP comes true as a reality.
“Our commitment to this dream is to continue to oversee the industry with innovative and robust regulatory processes, spiced with transparency, fairness and openness, providing choice for the Nigerian consumers and businesses, trusted by investors across the globe, and respected by the international community.