Danbatta is releasing a book and revealing NCC projects today

Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), will unveil two strategic projects and launch a book based on his landmark speeches.

Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs (DPA), announced this in a statement last week in Abuja, adding that the book’s launch and unveiling of the commission’s projects were set for September 7.

According to him, the book is a collection of the EVC’s carefully chosen, seminal speeches and presentations covering all strategic areas of the nation’s telecommunications industry as well as “the entire digital economy ecosystem” since his appointment as the NCC’s EVC in August 2015.

“Since leaving the ivory tower to become the EVC of NCC in 2015, Danbatta, a Professor of Telecommunications Engineering, accomplished academic, and seasoned administrator, has given extensive speeches and presentations on a wide range of subjects in telecoms and ICT at important national, regional, and international events,” Ikechukwu said.

He went on to say that the most important speeches and presentations from 2015 to the present had been compiled into a compendium that would add to the existing body of knowledge on the telecoms industry and, by extension, the entire ICT industry.

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The book, according to Adinde, will be useful reference material for current and potential investors, academic researchers, policy analysts, and others interested in the telecoms industry and its regulation.

“The late former Chairman, Board of Commissioners of NCC, late Alhaji Ahmed Joda, painstakingly wrote the foreword to the book.”

“The book is a compelling read,” Ikechukwu said, noting that it also chronicles important milestones achieved by the Commission under Danbatta’s leadership.

He announced that the NCC’s new five-year Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) 2021-2025 and its new social media channel, the “NCC’s Global Connect Podcast,” would be unveiled.

“To consolidate the telecoms sector’s growth and expand the possibilities of the digital economy, the new SVP will enable cross-functional infrastructure, ubiquitous services, and deeper consumer engagement.

“The need to develop another SVP as a five-year implementation roadmap for the Commission arose as the first SVP, unveiled by Danbatta in 2016, came to an end in 2020,” he said.

It’s widely acknowledged that Danbatta’s careful implementation of the first SVP initiative contributed to a steady increase in broadband penetration and telephone access.

“And, among other things, increase the sector’s contribution to GDP, increase healthy competition in the industry, improve quality of service (QoS), and put the sector’s overall investment profile on an impressive growth trajectory,” he added.