The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, re-affirmed the commitment when the Commission hosted a high-level delegation from the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, LTA, at the NCC’s Head Office in Abuja at the weekend.

Speaking during the LTA’s visit, Maida, who was represented by the Director of Corporate Planning, Strategy and Risk Management at NCC, Dr. Kelechi Nwankwo, emphasized the Commission’s mandate to continually collaborate with sister regulatory institutions within the sub-region and beyond to drive the expansion of digital economy and improve the living conditions of citizen.

He said, given the NCC’s long-standing commitment to regional cooperation through platforms such as the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly, WATRA, the Commission believed the region becomes stronger and more prosperous when all countries were interconnected.

The EVC further emphasized that collaboration remained a core driver of the NCC Board and that sustained engagement with regional partners was essential to advancing the interests of telecommunications consumers and various stakeholders.

Maida recalled the Commission’s advocacy for the recognition of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as critical national infrastructure within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), noting that Nigeria had already designated ICT as part of its critical national information infrastructure to give it the prominence required for sustainable growth.

He assured the Liberian delegation of the NCC’s readiness to provide support in advancing regional shared initiatives and translating discussions into actionable outcomes within the sub-region.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the LTA, Hon. Clarence Massaquoi, commended the NCC for making itself available in the spirit of regional coordination and collaboration, describing the engagement as critical to strengthening regulatory responsibilities across the sub-region.

Massaquoi acknowledged that Nigeria remained the largest economy in the region and a central player in Africa’s communications, security, and economic structures, that progress made by Nigeria often had far-reaching impacts across other West African countries.

He explained that since his assumption of office as the Liberian chief telecom regulator, the LTA had prioritized strengthening relationships with regional institutions to support ECOWAS’ vision of integration as effective regional integration cannot be achieved without affordable and reliable communications services, particularly in addressing cross-border roaming challenges.

The LTA Chairman disclosed that Liberia had signed bilateral agreements with The Gambia and Côte d’Ivoire and was at advanced stages of discussion with Ghana and Guinea-Conakry and that the Liberian regulator remained committed to active participation in WATRA.

Massaquoi further sought NCC’s support in regulatory capacity building and the sharing of best practices, particularly as Liberia reviews its licensing regime to reflect emerging technologies and align with regional standards.

The two regulators also underscored the centrality of shared commitment to deepen collaboration, identify priority areas for engagement, and advance initiatives that will promote seamless connectivity, regional integration, and socio-economic development across West Africa.

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Executive Vice Chairman of the  Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the submission in a statement delivered at the 21st West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly, WATRA, Annual General Meeting, AGM, which held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, from the 19th to 22nd March 2024.

Dr. Maida, whose message was delivered at the WATRA AGM by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Nnenna Ukoha, stated that the recent submarine cable cuts that resulted in nationwide outages on multiple networks in 12 African countries has raised the urgent need for the subregion to establish a mechanism to protect itself from damage to submarine infrastructure and its attendant impact on the subregion.

Maida referred to a report by Cloudflare, an IT service management firm, which indicates that about six countries, including four West African countries, were still suffering from the outages caused by the submarine cable cuts, to buttress the call

“Securing telecom infrastructure is paramount for fostering Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, and enhancing investor confidence in the West African sub-region. The reliability and resilience of telecommunications networks are crucial factors that investors consider when evaluating regional opportunities.

“By ensuring the security of these vital assets, we can attract more investment, spur economic growth, and enhance our competitiveness on the global stage. A secure telecoms infrastructure not only facilitates efficient communication and connectivity but also signals a commitment to safeguarding critical assets essential for business operations. This assurance can significantly boost investor confidence and create a conducive environment for sustainable economic development,” he said.

According to him, “the impact of events like cable cuts highlights the need for a coordinated, multilateral approach to protecting shared infrastructure across our member nations.”

Maida, therefore, proposed “the urgent need to set up a framework for joint monitoring, risk mitigation, and emergency response procedures for the submarine cables that pass through the sub-region.

“Further to this, we recommend that the WATRA Working Group on Infrastructure expand its mandate to spearhead the development of a comprehensive strategy to safeguard the subregion’s telecommunications networks and associated infrastructure thereby proactively bolstering resilience through improved disaster response protocols to better insulate ourselves from future disruptions.”

He advised that the goals of the Working Group would be to strengthen sub-regional infrastructure resilience, promote the diversification of the sub-region’s connectivity, conduct regular capacity assessments, as well as facilitate the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as critical national infrastructure in member countries.

The West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly was established in 2002 as a common platform for national telecommunication regulatory authorities in 16 member states to promote the adoption of regulations that stimulate investment in telecommunication infrastructure to deliver more affordable, accessible, faster and secure communication services to citizens.

At the 21st WATRA Annual General Meeting, issues pertaining to accessible and affordable telecommunication services in the sub-region were discussed, including improved consumer protection, quality of service, roaming and conflict resolution for consumers.

A major highlight of the AGM was the reelection of Nigeria’s Engr. Yusuf Aliyu Aboki, as Executive Secretary, for a second term in a unanimous vote by the member countries.

The EVC of NCC commended Engr. Aboki for his firm, inclusive and visionary leadership, which saw the successful delivery of WATRA’s 2022 — 2025 Strategic Plan, noting that Nigeria and indeed the sub-region was proud of the milestones he had achieved during his first tenure.

He further advised the WATRA Executive Secretary to build on the achievements of his first tenure, through stronger partnerships and deeper collaboration while advancing the interests of the sub-regional body.

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Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, who served Nigeria’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s national  telecommunications regulatory authority, handed over to the newly elected chairman of the Assembly, Sekou Oumar Barry, of the Republic of Guinea.

The handover ceremony was one of the major highlights of the recently-concluded 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of WATRA which took place in Conakry, Republic of Guinea.

The AGM equally approved WATRA’s new Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2022-2024.

Barry, the new chairman, who will preside over the affairs of the Executive Council of WATRA for the next one year, is the Director General of the Telecommunication and Posts Regulatory Authority, ARPT, of the Republic of Guinea.

The Assembly also elected the representatives of Mali and Sierra-Leone as 1st and 2nd Vice Chairmen respectively.

In his address at the event, Danbatta acknowledged the important role WATRA has been playing in creating policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for Information and Communication Technology, ICT, in the sub-region since the mid-1990s and commended the synergy among member states, which he noted had continued to provide an economic defense for member countries against global shocks, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Nigeria, Danbatta said ICT currently contributes 17 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, with ambitious target of 20 per cent contribution over the next three years.

He stated that if one big regional market in which ICT policies and regulations were aligned was created, WATRA members could drive ICT investment and growth faster in their respective countries and collectively in the sub-region.

Danbatta recalled that he had worked closely with the Executive Secretary of WATRA, Aliu Aboki, and his team in last 12 months to achieve a lot in the re-organisation of WATRA’s internal governance and processes to make them more efficient and transparent.

The EVC, thus, thanked the Executive Secretary and his team for the energy with which they had pursued the re-positioning task just as he commended the Executive Committee for the clarity of purpose with which they had spelt out those priorities.

Danbatta said some of his achievements as WATRA Chairman, include the delivery of draft for four-year strategic plan in line with 18th AGM resolution, partial payment of long-outstanding membership dues by some member states after long periods of inactivity, deployment of the new WATRA automated Asset Management System, successful organisation of various high-quality capacity building programs for members, optimization of WATRA accounting, finance, and budgeting process, as well as institution of procedures for improved accountability, marked by weekly financial dashboard.

The achievements recorded under Danbatta’s one-year chairmanship also include the deployment of automatic external phone answer and routing system, completion of front-end and back-end development of the redesigned WATRA website, joint development by WATRA, the Coordination Team, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission of a new organisational framework for roaming regulation implementation, reactivation of Niger participation in ECOWAS roaming regulation implementation through WATRA-ECOWAS Commission collaboration.

Other achievements of WATRA under Danbatta’s leadership include re-translation of WATRA constitution drafted and under review by Executive Committee, renewed engagements with ECOWAS on World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC) 2023 collaboration, joint conduct of the 2nd WRC2023 prep meeting, successful organisation of 2-day technical physical meeting in Abuja on fraud and roaming tariffs for ECOWAS regional roaming in collaboration with ECOWAS Commission, kick-off of Digital Transformation of WATRA Operations and WATRA Operating Model review service being part of a $300,000 grant from the Nigerian government through NCC, Nigeria.

While congratulating Barry, as the new WATRA Chairman, Danbatta expressed the conviction that the new leadership would build on the modest achievements of the last one year.

“When members see the unique role that WATRA plays in easing the task of national regulators to adopt or fine-tune regulations through mutual learning and capacity building, they see more reason to engage and be active within WATRA. So, if we build on the modest achievements of the Assembly, the benefits will be with the region for decades,” he said.

He also stated that both at home or in the diaspora, West Africa had the talents to study the most efficient ICT regulations in the world and adapt it for the region’s purposes so that it could attract greater investment into the regions and transform the economy of member states.

“What we have to do is to continue the work of building WATRA into a platform that seamlessly deploys these talents and capacity to the 16 member states. The gains to us are enormous,” Danbatta stated with patent conviction.

The EVC further assured his colleagues in WATRA of his commitment to supporting the new leadership in all ways possible.

“As I hand over to the incoming chairman, please be assured of my continued support and that of the Nigerian Communications Commission and, indeed, the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to WATRA,” Danbatta said.

In his acceptance speech, Barry, who thanked Danbatta for making giant strides in the last 12 months, promised to work with the Executive Committee team and the Management Team to consolidate the achievements of the Assembly, and to ensure greater success of the Assembly for the future.

The 19th AGM was attended by the following 14 of the 16 WATRA member states:  Togo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger Republic, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Republic of Guinea, The Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic.

Ghana and Liberia were absent at the meeting.

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The efforts will be aimed at combating rising wave of electronic frauds, and to standardise regional roaming tariffs in the sub-region.

The determination to carry out the modalities was the crux of a two-day meeting organised by WATRA in collaboration with the Economic Community of West Africa States, ECOWAS, which started on Tuesday in Abuja.

The meeting, which was attended by representatives of telecoms regulators from countries across West Africa, provided a platform for key participants and stakeholders to deliberate on building a unified market in telecommunications services in West Africa, to combat roaming and cyber-related frauds, and achieve the standardisation of roaming tariffs among ECOWAS member-states.

Addressing stakeholders at the meeting, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who is also the chairman of WATRA, underscored the centrality of the meeting by emphasising that, as businesses move online, the fraudsters were also going digital.

Danbatta, who was represented by NCC’s Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Bako Wakil, said based on this fact and in order to give West African citizens and businesses the confidence to fully take advantage of the enormous benefits of Information and Communications Technology, ICT, there was a need for regulators to tame and outpace the fraudsters.

“About 75 per cent of trade within ECOWAS is informal, and thus poorly recorded. Therefore, digitising this trade through employing many forms of electronic payments is a significant step towards formalising, governing and boosting intra-ECOWAS trade activities. Our ambitions are to formalise informal trade, including agricultural commodities as well as boosting intra-regional trade and this requires us to improve collaboration on combating electronic fraud,” Danbatta said.

Danbatta informed the delegates to the forum that electronic fraud was not just an African or a West African issue but a global phenomenon.

He cited studies that revealed 54 per cent of consumers in the European Union said they were most likely to come across misleading/deceptive or fraudulent advertisements or offers on the Internet.

On the regional roaming service, the WATRA chairman said the Assembly had the vision of a ‘Digital ECOWAS’ where improved sub-regional roaming regulation can help to facilitate an economic integration in the region.

“Our citizens, traders and companies will trade better when they can use their telephones to call contacts in other ECOWAS countries and when they can use their data subscriptions at no extra cost while travelling or doing business within the region. So, reducing and eventually eliminating the cost of roaming will also be a very significant contribution towards boosting trade within the region,” Danbatta said.

The EVC expressed satisfaction at the level of collaboration among national regulatory authorities in the sub-region on the one hand; and between WATRA and ECOWAS, to achieve a common goal, on the other hand, describing such synergy as a great indicator of progress and internalisation of best global practices.

“I am very pleased to see the excellent collaboration and the sharing of workload between the telecommunications body and personnel within ECOWAS and WATRA. Their roles have become complementary and mutually reinforcing-policies legislative frameworks that have been designed at the ECOWAS level, while WATRA does the follow-up work of information-sharing, dialogue and learning dispersal amongst regulatory authorities. It is indeed becoming a well-articulated symphony,” he added.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of WATRA, Aliyu Aboki, emphasised the value of a trusted digital economy to any nation.

He cited a study by Accenture, which concludes that “a trusted digital economy would stimulate 2.8 per cent additional growth for major firms, with the new transactions generated totaling $5.2 trillion of value creation in the economy,” hence, the establishment and operationalisation of national and regional anti-fraud committee.

Aboki commended ECOWAS for “allowing this regional sharing of the enormous task of building Digital ECOWAS to work very well through WATRA, which is a regional manifestation of this collaborative structure”.

The WATRA chief restated that WATRA, as a mechanism for regional regulatory collaboration, will work in unison and ensure its vision is speedily executed by making sure that no nation in the region is left behind.

Speaking at the forum, the Acting Director, Digital Economy and Post, ECOWAS, Dr. Raphael Koffi, noted that while e-fraud in the provision of communication services had always been an issue being collectively tackled, variance in termination rates agreed in commercial roaming agreements had also constituted an obstacle to harmonisation of roaming tariffs which, he said, collaboration between WATRA and ECOWAS was set to achieve.

Participants at the event were updated on the status of the implementation of the Removal of Surcharges on International Traffic, SIIT, on ECOWAS countries; establishment of a uniform tariff cap for roaming call termination in the ECOWAS region, among others.

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The historical event took place in Maitama, Abuja, on 16th September 2021.

Danbatta, who is also the chairman of the Executive Council of WATRA, stated that the event was of such profound significance that it transcends the physical hoisting of the flag, noting that “it symbolises the cohesion taking place in WATRA” and giving concrete and louder expression to collaboration and cooperation among members states of the regional telecom regulatory body.

Prof. Danbatta also said that the increasing demonstration of cooperation and cohesion by WATRA member states signified the unflinching commitment to harnessing ICT resources to improve the quality of life of the people of the sub-region.

He noted that ICT remained an enabler for bridging the gaps in the pathway to development.

Strengthening Danbatta’s position, Ambassador Ndiaye, who is also Senegal’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, described the ceremony as a happy occasion.

He noted that it was gratifying to gather at WATRA secretariat to hoist the flag of Senegal alongside those of other member states.

He said Senegal had never relented in making remarkable contributions to ECOWAS and other regional bodies and indicated his country’s readiness to work within the political and economic framework of ECOWAS to streamline challenges facing regulators like WATRA.

Ambassador Ndiaye further stated that among the key challenges regulators face are the emergent Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, the convergence of networks and applications, the imperative of infrastructure sharing and the increasing needs of telecom consumers, dynamics of financial services, and electronic commerce in general.

Ndiaye asserted that the telecom regulator was central to the acceleration of growth in other sectors of the economy and therefore occupied a significant place in the socio-economic space.

He said he looked forward to continued collaboration to address the myriads of challenges in the telecom sector, and noted that the outbreak of COVID-19 and the envisioned post-COVID-19 relations had compounded the challenges of telecom regulation.

The Senegalese envoy seized the opportunity of the occasion to convey the gratitude of the government and people of Senegal to the Federal Government of Nigeria for hosting WATRA.

He also thanked the NCC for the support it had continued to offer WATRA and for promoting greater cooperation among member states towards harnessing the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, the Executive Secretary of WATRA, in his welcome address, expressed extreme delight at having the ambassador and the chairman of WATRA at the flag presentation and hoisting ceremony.

Aboki noted that the presence of the duo underscored the importance that “policymakers and political authorities in Africa attach to the digital economy as a means of promoting investment, jobs and growth”, even as the meeting also signified the sub-regional determination to work together in order to improve telecommunications regulations in a manner that enabled “operators and investors to deliver more affordable, higher quality and more innovative services” to the people of West Africa.

Aboki who also recalled the rare strides made by the government of Senegal in promoting digital economy amplified the voice of Ndiaye by expressing the gratitude of the 16 member countries of WATRA to the Nigerian government, which, through the NCC, has continued to support “the Assembly and for hosting WATRA.”

The West African Regulators Assembly, WATRA, is made up of ECOWAS member states and Mauritania.

The hoisting of the flag of member states of WATRA at the secretariat, an initiative of the Danbatta-led Executive Council, commenced after the last AGM where Aboki and Danbatta emerged, respectively, as Executive Secretary and Chairman of the Executive Council.

Thirteen member states had their respective flags hoisted at the AGM while Mauritania later sent a representative to perform the flag hoisting ceremony.

With Senegal’s symbolic presentation of its flag and its hoisting, WATRA looks forward very excitedly to The Republic of Ghana to present and hoist its flag soon, in order to complete that process to further consummate the bonding among members of the Assembly.

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Danbatta shared the experiences while receiving a delegation from Autoridade Reguladora Nacional, ARN, the Telecom National Regulatory Authority of Guinea-Bissau who were on a week-long benchmarking visit to the commission in Abuja on Wednesday.

The delegation was in the commission to gain insight into NCC’s regulatory template as part of the exchange to build stronger bilateral relations with the commission in the area of telecommunications regulation.

According to Danbatta, who is also the chairman of the West African Telecommunication Regulatory Assembly, WATRA, the Nigerian Communications Commission had been recognised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as Africa’s foremost regulatory organisation and had over the years received regulators from across Africa and beyond whose mission was to understudy the commission.

He recalled the strong support to Nigeria by Guinea Bissau during the recently concluded election for the position of Executive Secretary of WATRA and the chairmanship of the regional body, noting that the benchmarking visit underscored the cordial relationship, mutual cooperation and collaboration between both countries.

“The 16 members of the regional organisation share a common vision in ensuring that the citizens are not digitally excluded and are cooperating to ensure that access to information and communication technology services are not only ubiquitous, but that they are available and affordable through effective national and regional policies,” Danbatta said.

The EVC pointed out that the NCC had through the implementation of various policy initiatives, particularly the National Broadband Plan (2020-2025), improved access to broadband for over 80 million Nigerians and targetted the provision of Point of Broadband Access (PoA) in all the 774 local government areas of the country within the plan period.

Dnabatta stated that challenges remained in the process, but observed that NCC was committed to addressing such challenges as Right of Way (RoW) issue, multiple taxation, vandalism of telecom infrastructure, among others, confronting the licensees as they rolled out services.

To further drive digital inclusion, Danbatta said the commission carried out a study to determine areas where there were access gaps in the country.

“We identified 217 ‘clusters of access gaps’ and today, we have ensured more Nigerians are digitally-included by reducing the number of access gaps to 114 currently, while more measures are being taken to further reduce the access gaps, thereby deepening digital inclusion.

Through NCC’s various regulatory efforts, Danbatta said “Nigeria’s telecoms sector had reached an all-time-high, basic internet subscription of 154 million; over 87 million broadband subscriptions, representing 45.93 per cent broadband penetration; over 207 million voice subscriptions with teledensity standing at 108.94 per cent as at October, 2020.”

Meanwhile, Danbatta, as WATRA chairman, has assured of ongoing plans for the Executive Secretary of WATRA, Aliu Aboki, to visit the 16 member countries of the Assembly for the purposes of interacting and engaging with the member countries in order to build a common front to galvanise the development of the telecommunications ecosystem in the West African sub-region.

“So, we hope this level of collaboration at the level of WATRA, will be strengthened, so that together, we can act in a manner that other parts of Africa can be able to copy from us. It is an excellent regulatory model that we are working together and I solicit your support and that of other member countries in making the visit of the 16 member countries by the Executive Secretary a huge success,” Danbatta urged the delegation.

While expressing the desire to reciprocate the visit, the EVC particularly appreciated the Guinea Bissau’s delegation for the visit and expressed the hope that their expectations for the benchmarking programme had been met as they took away some key ideas and integrated same into the regulation of their country’s communications industry.

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Also voted in as Executive Secretary, ES, is the Nigerian candidate, Engr. Aliu Yusuf Aboki, whose emergence followed a keenly-contested election by member states.

Aboki scored the highest number of total votes cast, ahead of contestants from Liberia, Guinea, and Benin.

He succeeds the outgoing ES, Elhadj Mamman Laminou of Niger Republic, who held sway at WATRA for two terms.

Elated by the development, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, expressed optimism that the emergence of Nigeria as both Chairman and Executive Secretary of the sub-regional Assembly, would offer a new impetus for greater collaboration among member states to further drive the rapid development of the telecommunications industry for the benefit of the sub-region.

In the last 17 years, Aboki has worked in the Information and Communication Technology, ICT, industry and has the lofty agenda to work with member state regulators and other stakeholders to make WATRA play a more strategic role in shaping the regulation of the telecoms sector in the sub-region.

His agenda as the new ES of WATRA includes harmonisation of technical standards, connectivity with societies across borders, ensuring sound regulatory framework for telecommunications service delivery in West Africa, increased focus on ICT as a tool for socio-economic development as well as ensuring closer collaboration amongst member countries.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian delegates, Barrister Adewolu Adeleke, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, ECSM, who represented the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, congratulated the new ES on his emergence, and praised the outgoing ES for the satisfactory record of performance during his tenure.

He also congratulated other candidates for their participation in the process.

Adewolu also appreciated the delegates for the confidence to vote Nigeria as both chairman for 2021 and for the position of executive secretary.

He assured the members that Nigeria was committed to enhanced cooperation among members and pledged that the country would continue to work to advance the development of telecommunications in the sub-region.

The ECSM charged the new ES “to note all the comments and observations made by member countries during the AGM and tasked him on the need to be ES for all member states and not only for Nigeria.”

While pledging NCC’s support to ensure his success in office, Adewolu, however, stated that the commission, as a foremost regulatory organisation, would hold Aboki accountable to the highest standards, to deliver on WATRA objectives.

WATRA, an organisation of 16 independent National Regulatory Authorities was established to promote an efficient, adequate, and cost-effective ICT infrastructure and services in the West African sub-region, while fostering rapid telecommunications development across member states.

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While Pantami will deliver the opening address at the AGM scheduled to take place from March 10-11, 2021 in Abuja, Danbatta will give the keynote at the conference.

The event provides opportunity for telecoms regulators in West Africa to take important decisions, including the adoption of activities report, programmes, budget for the Executive Secretariat, as well as the renewal of the organisation’s governing bodies.

Nigeria is fielding Mr. Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, as a candidate for the position of Executive Officer in WATRA.

In the last 17 years, Aboki has worked in the Information Communication sector and he has the lofty agenda to work with member state regulators and other stakeholders to make WATRA play a more strategic role in shaping the regulation of telecoms sector in the sub- region.

Established in November 2004 with headquarters in Abuja, WATRA has become an important regional organisation within the African and global telecommunications ecosystem, with current membership consisting of independent National Regulatory Authorities, NRAs, across 16 countries including Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire. Others include, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

As a regional telecoms organisation, WATRA is a consultative and collaborative body of Telecommunications Regulators in the West African sub-region to aid and advance development of telecommunications in the sub region and ultimately in Africa.

The Assembly also collaborates and cooperates with other regional and international organisations towards the attainment of its mission to ensure the rapid development of telecommunications in the sub region.

The association also promotes the establishment of modern legal and regulatory structures for telecommunications and seeks the development of harmonisation of regulations for telecommunications service delivery and pricing in all countries in the sub-region.

WATRA is poised to work towards the attainment of a uniform telecommunications service standard in the sub-region and the adoption of a uniform technical quality standard for telecommunication applications and equipment employed in the sub-region.

It also initiates, encourages and supports human resource and capacity building efforts aimed at redressing the shortage of indigenous skills, competencies and capabilities in emerging information and communications technologies in the sub region.

WATRA comprises of three institutions namely: The Conference of Regulator, The Executive Committee and The Secretariat.

The Secretariat is the Administrative organ of WATRA while The Conference of Regulators is the supreme decision-making body and the main authority of WATRA.

The Conference of Regulators meets, at least, once a year in a General Assembly to define the general policy framework, set the objectives including approving the budget and receiving the report of the auditor.

Speaking at a pre-conference meeting, the EVC NCC, Danbatta, expressed optimism that this year’s annual general meeting will live up to expectations as Nigeria looks forward to clinching the top job at the regional body.

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