How the NCC New Strategic Management Plan to drive Digital Economy in Nigeria
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has disclosed that its new Strategic Management Plan (SMP) was created to drive the digital economy in Nigeria.
In a report obtained by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com, NCC, stated: “The launch of the SMP demonstrated the Commission’s serious improvement in performance matrix and its efforts in accelerating the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020 – 2025 of the Federal Government. The SMP, according to Prof. Danbatta, is the fulcrum that will aid the NCC in driving its telecom regulatory mandate in the fast-evolving telecoms industry, in the next five years.
“It will also serve as a roadmap for the future of the Nigerian telecoms sector, taking into consideration the current and emerging trends in the industry and the numerous expectations of the diverse stakeholders. The SMP 2020 – 2024 is the visioning document of the Commission for planning, monitoring, analysing, and assessing of the Commission to meet its goals and set objectives.
“It has five pillars, which include regulatory excellence, universal broadband, promote the development of digital economy, market development; and strategic partnering and 25 intended outcomes. Five critical success factors identified for the implementation of the Strategy include: ownership and commitment, effective communication, human resource capacity, development of and adherence to a strategy development manual; and implementation discipline.”
It also stated: “In 2020, the NCC continued its commitment to investing millions of Naira to drive Information and Communications Technology (ICT) innovations in the academia and while also supporting innovative ideas among young Nigerian tech innovators. Aside from several ICT innovation challenges and Hackathon programmes such as the Covid-19 Virtual Hackathon initiated and implemented by the Commission, the NCC, instituted and endowed two additional Professorial Chairs to the tune of N40 million in two more Nigerian universities.
“The two universities – the premier University of Ibadan, Oyo State and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi State, are endowed with N20 million each over the next two years to embark on massive research to promote innovation to drive socio-economic development in the country. This brings to four the number of tertiary institutions of learning that have benefitted from the NCC’s innovation-driving initiative, having endowed professorial chairs in Bayero University Kano (BUK) and Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) in May, 2019.”
