Danbatta Receives EFCC’s Ambassadorial Badge •As NCC Issues Public Notice On Auction Of Two Lots Of 3.5GHZ Spectrum
Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has received an ambassadorial badge from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The ambassadorial badge which was presented by the EFCC chairman, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, was in recognition of Danbatta’s effort at entrenching a culture of anti-corruption in the communications industry.
As contained in a release by NCC Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, Bawa presented the badge to Danbatta when the latter paid a courtesy visit to his office to deepen the synergy between the two agencies.
The NCC, under the leadership of “Professor Danbatta, has been in the vanguard of promoting transparency and openness with the strengthening of its Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit, in line with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act.
“The ICPC, in 2020, ranked the NCC above other departments and agencies of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (MoCDE).
“The NCC topped the list among three other agencies under the ministry, which featured in the intra-ministerial agencies’ ranking in ethics compliance and institutional integrity with 81.15 per cent.
“Similarly, the Commission led 24 other regulatory agencies to emerge as the most ethically-compliant parastatal among 25 different regulatory agencies assessed in the anti-graft agency’s Ethics Compliance and Integrity Scorecards (ECIS), 2020.
“In 2017, the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) awarded the NCC the topmost Platinum recognition for its institutional work processes, courtesy of its robust business organisational structure, policies, and practices that facilitated effective and efficient service delivery.
“In arriving at this conclusion, the BPSR also listed accountabilities and responsibilities for setting Standardised Operating Procedure (SOP) manuals of the Commission’s 19 departments as some of the high points.
“In the same vein, the NCC’S Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has been at the forefront of rolling out series of preventive measures in the country, helping in the process to curbing cyber-related crimes,” Muoka stated in the release.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a public notice on the upcoming auction of two lots of 3.5GHZ Spectrum.
This was in line with Section 121 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (the Act) which gives the Commission the responsibility to manage and administer spectrum resources for the communications sector in an efficient and effective manner.
As stated in a separate release by the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the essence of the responsibility is for the socio-economic benefit of the country.
“Accordingly, it is the Commission’s responsibility, as the industry regulator, to ensure that harmonized and standardised Spectrum resources are made available in a timely manner to ensure its optimal utilisation.
“The impact of the Commission’s regulatory activities in this regard is evident in the contribution of ICT, and telecommunications in particular, to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
“The Act allows available Spectrum resources to be licensed through different methods. Spectrum licensing via Auction is one of the most transparent methods of assigning Spectrum resources globally.
“It is important to note that the Commission in response to requests for more Spectrum lots to be made available during the 2021 Stakeholders’ engagement had estimated a period of 24 months to clear all encumbrances in the remaining two (2) lots of the 3.5GHz band.
“The Information Memorandum that guided the 2021 Auction process further stated the Commission’s intention to migrate incumbent users of the remaining portion of the C-band to free up Spectrum and make it available for the deployment of new services.
“The Commission has achieved the clearance earlier than estimated 24 months, thus making the Spectrum available for licensing.
“The Commission wishes to reiterate that as a regulatory body holding in trust the management and administration of scarce spectrum resources on behalf of Federal Goverment that it will continue to make available, the much needed harmonized and standardised Spectrum resources to the industry.
“The Auction is designed to boost competition by making it open to both new entrants as well as existing licensees.
“We, therefore, wish to reassure all stakeholders and investors, that the processes and schedule for the Auction of two (2) lots of 3.5GHz Spectrum will take place as planned.
“The final Information Memorandum for the Auction has been published on the Commission’s website. Interested applicants are advised to adhere to the requirements as specified in the Information Memorandum for participation in the auction,” it was stated in the release.
