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Nigeria has been elected to chair the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) by a consensus of all the parties concerned. Similarly, Nigeria’s nomination for the position of the Executive Secretary also met with resounding success as Aliyu Aboki emerged the winner of a keenly contested election among six countries.
The unanimous decision to make Nigeria chairman of the regional regulatory body was reached after several virtual and physical engagements by the Assembly with Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, supported by the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta.
According to a statement by the minister spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, the Nigeria Communications Act (NCA 2003), by default, bequeaths the power of representation at international fora on the minister as the sector’s supervisor and national policymaker. Consequently, Dr. Pantami becomes the de facto chairman of WATRA.
Aboki’s nomination and endorsement by the minister was based on merit with his proven skills in the sector. His expertise and support from the Nigerian government, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ensured Nigeria’s victory at the elections. While The Gambia and Burkina Faso voluntarily stepped down their candidature for Nigeria, the results favoured the Nigerian candidate with the following outcome; Benin 4, Guinea 1, Liberia 2, Nigeria 6.
Undoubtedly, Pantami’s unprecedented strides in Nigeria’s Digital Economy sector as reflected in the current National Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has won the attention and trust of the regulatory assembly in the ECOWAS sub-region.
