Senate ON The appointment of Dr. Aminu Maida as substantive Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was confirmed on Thursday.
According to the statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs of KOK, Maida was confirmed by the Senate during the plenary session that adopted the report of the Senate Committee on Communications, which presented Maida on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications and former Minister of Communications, Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbisa, who presented the report youurged the Senate to consider President Bola Tinubu’s request to confirm Maida as the country’s chief telecommunications regulator.
He said the committee had vetted Maida, who had previously cleared all inspections of relevant security agencies in the security management sector.
Maida features
Bilbisa it was said that he had informed the Senate that Maida had possessionD required qualifications, professional experience, competencies and regulatory capabilities to ensure accelerated development of the domestic telecommunications sector. He urged the Senate to approve Maida’s nomination by Mr. President.
Accordingly, the Senate proceeded to confirm by voice vote the nomination of Dr. Aminu Maida for a five-year term, subject to renewal by the President.
New EVC priorities
Earlier during the Senate Committee review, Maida answered questions related to his industry insights, qualifications, experience, suitability and competency to manage the country’s telecommunications regulatory sector and was variously described by members as a round peg in a round hole.
Maida told the committee that his main priorities are to improve coverage and connectivity by bridging access gaps between rural and urban communities through improved broadband infrastructure, as well as improving quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for consumers to enable them to get value for money.
He also said that under his leadership he will ensure that the Commission’s licensees, which number more than 8,000 across various segments of the sector, are required to strictly comply with the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) concluded with consumers in the provision of services.
Maida also said he would create a more conducive environment for investment in the sector. Maida also promised to work with the dynamic NCC team to “rethink” how the Universal Service Delivery Fund (USPF) can be better used to close the existing digital divide in the country.
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority also promised to prioritize inter-agency collaboration to achieve the current agenda for the digital economy sector, just as he stated that the ongoing review of the NCA 2003 will lead to greater innovation to improve the efficiency of the sector and addressed the National Assembly for support to be successful.
