By 
By Nwakaego Alejemba
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the telecoms regulator is committed to promoting the national digital economy agenda of the federal government and working more closely with other stakeholders to boost innovations.
Speaking while delivering the keynote address at the recent 2020 Virtual Nigeria Innovation Summit, he said the NCC’s partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has helped to digitally reworked Nigeria’s financial landscape in a way that has brought several positive results to millions of people,
His words: “Collaborative partnership between the NCC and the CBN has been very effective, leading to the development of various brands of electronic transaction models, which have totally reformed banking in Nigeria making it possible for instant cash transfers to folks in rural areas cutting out waiting times at banking halls and simplifying online transactions.
Between 2015 and 2020, much has been done to put Nigeria on the global map of nations that are electronically driven while delivering financial intermediation. Together with our stakeholders from the banking sector, the NCC is actively involved in the application of various electronic portals that continue to drive transactions off banking floor and onto handheld devices or personal computers.”
According to him, the NCC sees a new future for the country in digital economic terms having seen the considerable impact of the telecoms sector on every fibre of national development in the last few decades.
“The commission placed emphasis on growing the digital economy in collaboration with sister agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
“Recognizing the need to entrench digital economy thinking in its operational activity, the Commission created the Digital Economy Department principally for implementing programmes and policies aimed at fully supporting and promoting the national digital economy agenda of the Federal Government,” said Danbatta.
He added that the coronavirus pandemic has helped to speed up reliance on digital economy.
His words: “With the advent of the Covid-19, ICT has become the major backbone for government activities and local businesses. The re-direction of human traffic to online portals for major transactions as a result of social distancing also meant that cybercriminals have a larger audience and a much bigger playground to execute their nefarious activities. The NCC, CBN, major financial institutions and security agencies, we have diligently ensured that Nigeria’s cyberspace is secured.
“NCC has been the major linkage in the drive for optimum economic development, as it remains the pioneer for all the major disruptions that would drive the nation’s economic reboot, especially the financial systems riding on electronic innovations. These innovations are driven by the availability of a robust communications infrastructure made possible by the commission’s continuous quest for investment in the sector.
“The NCC, through its interventions, has continued to lift the Nigerian economy and create momentum and hope for financial inclusion based on the seamless implementation of the Commission’s Strategic Vision Plan.”
