Inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the Nigerian telecom sector has increased to $38 billion over the years and has continued to define the positive side of the nation’s economy. The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this during the Corporate Governance Forum hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Lagos.
Local and FDIs in the telecoms industry rose from $25 billion in 2010 to $32 billion in mid-2013.
In the last three years, the industry had re-corded additional $6 billion, raising the investment level to $38 billion. At the forum, foremost expert in telecom law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, in his keynote, underscored the need for order and adherence to rules and principles that govern the sector. He lauded the NCC for the initiative to make all stakeholders in the industry to abide by the rules and norms that govern the sector.
According to Danbatta, the commission will continue to push for reforms and initiatives that would create and sustain the kind of atmosphere that encourages innovation in a liberalised market.
He said: “The liberalisation of the telecoms industry opened investment opportunities for both local and foreign companies, contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
To illustrate, in contrast to the economy as a whole, which regressed to -0.36 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, the telecoms sector contributed, in progressive and real terms, about 8.83 per cent to the GDP in the same period.
This represents an increase of 0.5 per cent, relative to the growth in the last quarter of 2015. “Similarly, apart from attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in excess of $38 billion and reflating the economy, the telecoms value chain (formal and informal) continues to create a significant number of job opportunities for our teaming youths. Other positive spin-offs include increasing local content and rising income per capita/per head for employees in the sector.”
As the sector regulator, Danbatta rethorically asked ‘why are we not resting on our oars and basking in the glory of our widely-documented successes?’
“The answer is simple; we are committed to sustaining and building on the formidable structures established over the years for the industry to thrive and outlive us. We desire an industry that will grow bigger, better and be more relevant to successive generations.
“This is the real essence of our meeting today; to share our thoughts and perspectives on how to meet our commitment to the principles of inter-generational equity in the sector; how we can leave a lasting legacy of a strong and virile industry, fit for bequest to successive generations”.
