Nigeria’s government is putting greater emphasis on continuous engagement of different stakeholders to secure their buy-in towards achieving the targets of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025, Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, says.
According to a statement signed by Dr. Ikeckukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs at the NCC, Danbatta stated this at the first stakeholder consultation with telecommunication industry players on the implementation of the new national broadband plan held in Abuja on Tuesday.
Danbatta, who was represented by Ubale Maska, NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services and Chairman, Broadband Implementation Steering Committee, said the ministry and its agencies as well as the industry must work together towards attaining the set goals.
Danbatta pointed out that the 30 per cent broadband targets set in the previous NNBP 2013-2018 were achieved due to “our collective efforts, policy direction, regulation and financial commitment by industry players.”
However, he said some targets not met in the previous plan because of various challenges were presently being addressed.
“The NNBP 2020-2025 has, once again, identified initiatives to be implemented by different stakeholders in order to achieve the set objectives of the plan. The importance of broadband to our Gross Domestic Product, socio-economic development, and especially the digital economy, cannot be over-emphasised,” Danbatta said.
The Vice Chairman of BISC, Dr. Usman Abdullahi, in a welcome address, said the forum was to avail the industry players and representatives of government a veritable platform to collaborate, and discuss ways to accelerate broadband implementation for sustainable development of the telecommunications sector and advancement of the digital economy.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new broadband plan on March 19, 2020, following the development of the plan by a committee set up by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, on December 16, 2019.
