Arowosafe gave the commendation at an industry-focused stakeholders engagement session which was organised in Lagos over the weekend by the USPF in in collaboration with the UK FCDO and the ITU.

The session built on USPF’s ongoing efforts to facilitate the achievement of wide network connectivity coverage in unserved and underserved communities across Nigeria.

The event was attended by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, Faruk Yabo; the Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida; chief executives of telecommunications companies, state ICT commissioners, notable industry players, trade associations, development partners, key speakers, distinguished guests and staff of both NCC and the USPF.

The minister spoke on the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to provide enabling policy directions and initiatives towards ensuring greater connectivity in Nigeria to transform the socio-economic development of Nigeria while the NCC boss, Maida, emphasized the commission’s resolve to continue to back all USPF projects through effective regulatory measures that help in accelerating deployment of necessary digital infrastructure that support the achievement of the federal governments’ priority areas and ministerial blueprint.

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Speaking at the event, Arowosafe said the engagement reflected the USPF’s shared vision and commitment to expanding inclusive connectivity and that the presence of all other stakeholders at the event underscored the vital role of collaboration in achieving the goal.

He said the theme of the workshop, “Fostering Connectivity in Unserved and Underserved Communities: Collaborating for Sustainable Growth”, highlighted  government’s dedication to bridging the digital divide, in alignment with NCC’s Strategic Focus Areas, the Ministry’s Strategic Blueprint, and Presidential Priority Areas.

“Together, we have the power to create sustainable and inclusive pathways to ensure no community is left behind. Achieving this requires strong partnerships among government, private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), development partners, and community leaders. By sharing insights and resources, we can design tailored solutions that address both immediate and long-term connectivity challenges,” he said.

The USP Secretary stated that ahead of the session, the USPF gathered input from stakeholders through questionnaires.

He said the responses obtained shaped the panel discussions, focused on key strategies to foster connectivity through collaboration and partnerships, strengthen capacity building and security, and explore innovative funding mechanisms for sustainable connectivity.

He said the engagement, thus, offered a platform for robust dialogue and practical solutions that address our unique challenges and help improve telecommunications access in underserved regions, while encouraging participants to actively participate, share their expertise, and contribute to shaping outcomes that will strengthen the nation’s digital ecosystem and improve the lives of all Nigerians.

“This event marks the beginning of a collective journey toward a more connected, inclusive, and prosperous Nigeria. USPF is proud to lead this effort, and we look forward to what we can accomplish together,” he said.

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In the report conducted by the ITU, and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, FCDO, and unveiled by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani in Abuja on Monday, Nigeria was ranked among Africa’s top seven BEMECS 5G Readiness Index, which represents the country’s readiness to deploy and adopt mass-market 5G networks.

Titled, Collaborative Regulation: Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Transformation, and presented at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja by ITU’s Kagwira Nkonge, the report, among other things, presented a case study for ‘collaborative regulation review to assess and support Nigeria’s transition towards collaborative digital governance, evidence-based policy making and agile regulation in the digital economy.”

The report, which was presented to a cross section of key industry stakeholders including service providers, government agencies, representatives of multilateral institutions, West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), Africa Telecommunications Union, ATU, among others, was also designed to complement existing cross-country benchmarks in which features of countries policy and regulatory environment are assessed.

The features of countries policy and regulatory environment are assessed  according to the pillars of the Generations of Regulation frameworks which tracks telecom regulatory maturity towards digital transformation readiness, designated at G5 Advanced State of Readiness”, and for which Nigeria currently stands at G4.

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Advanced State of Readiness is benchmarked against four critical levels of accomplishments which include national collaborative governance, policy design principles, digital development toolbox, digital economic policy agenda, with Nigeria scoring 91 per cent in regulatory capacity; 82 per cent in Market Rules; 81 per cent in Collaborative Governance; 76 per cent in Legal Instruments for ICT/Telecom markets; 69 per cent in National Digital Agenda Policy, among other benchmarks.

Dr. Tijani, in his remarks at the event, commended the ITU and partner agencies and consultants that actualised the report; and expressed federal government’s commitment “to utilise this report as a navigational aid towards attainment of our regulatory objectives and policies outlines towards achieving a robust digital economy”.

“That is what we will continue to do as a government, ensuring that we can put ourselves in a place to have cutting-edge modern regulations in place to ensure that business is done properly in our sector and to ensure that, where possible, increase the local content of the sector as well,” he said.

Dr. Tijani noted that NCC had adapted over the years in response to how its role and mandate had changed.

He explained, “Fifteen, twenty years ago, NCC was just regulating the telecommunications sector, today, NCC regulates the foundation for which any economy would be prosperous.”

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, who hosted the presentation, welcomed the indicators that promote effective regulation, attraction of greater investment, and development of innovative models for broader digital inclusion.

He emphasised that collaborative regulation would support Nigeria’s transition towards effective digital governance, evidence-based policy making and agile regulation in the nation’s digital economy.

The ITU Report can be accessed through the link: https://www.itu.int/hub/publication/d-pref-them-33-2023/

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Nigeria will serve on the Council again from 2023-2026.

The election of Nigeria and other countries, on Monday, October 3, 2022, into different regional groups that constitute ITU council, was the highpoint of the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 (PP-22) ongoing in Bucharest, the capital city of the Republic of Romania.

The Nigerian delegation was successfully led to the global event by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

Other members of the delegation include the Chairman, Board of Commissioners of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, and the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta.

At the conference, which started on September 26, 2022 and scheduled to end on October 14, 2022, member states at the event voted on the composition of the next ITU council and the 12 representatives to serve on the Radio Regulations Board, RRB, for the next four years.

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The 21st Plenipotentiary Conference of the Council, also saw the election by member states, of Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States of America as the organisation’s next Secretary-General.

Like Nigeria and the countries elected into the council, Bogdan-Martin, as the first woman to lead ITU in its 157-year history, will begin her four-year term from January 2023, when Houlin Zhao would have completed his second final term of four years in office as ITU Secretary General.

The seats in ITU council are divided into five regions, A to E.

Nigeria was elected into the ITU council, Region D for Africa, which has 13 seats.

Other 12 countries elected alongside Nigeria are Algeria; Egypt; Ghana; Kenya; Mauritius; Morocco; Rwanda; Senegal; South Africa; Tanzania; Tunisia; Uganda.

Elections of member states also took place into the Region A for The Americas (nine seats); Region B for Western Europe (eight seats); Region C for Eastern Europe & Northern Asia (five seats); and Region E, for Asia and Australasia with 13 seats as Africa.

Commenting on Nigeria’s re-election as ITU Council member, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Umar Danbatta, thanked the ITU member states for the confidence it has in Nigeria through its re-election into the ITU council, in which the country has been playing critical role over the years.

“The re-election of Nigeria as a member of ITU council for the next four years, again, points to the globally-recognised leadership role Nigeria is playing in Africa and at the level of ITU Council in the area of telecommunications policy formulation and technical regulations development to drive ITU’s mission and vision,” the EVC said.

The ITU, originally established in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union and became a United Nations specialised agency in 1947, was set up to coordinate telecommunications operations and services throughout the world.

It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Nigeria became a member of ITU on November 4, 1961.

The USA joined on July 1, 1908; United Kingdom, February 24, 1871, and UAE on June 27, 1972.

The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Council.

The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of the Union.

It is the decision-making body which determines the direction of the union and its activities.

The Council, on the other hand, acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences.

Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union’s activities, policies, and strategies fully respond to today’s dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.

ITU council also prepares a report on the policy and strategic planning of the ITU, and it is responsible for ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the Union, coordinating work programmes, approving budgets, and controlling finances and expenditure.

The council also takes all steps to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of the ITU Constitution, the ITU Convention, the Administrative Regulations (International Telecommunications Regulations and Radio Regulations), the decisions of Plenipotentiary Conferences, and where appropriate, the decisions of other conferences and meetings of the Union.

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