Nigeria looks towards re-election into ITU Council

Nigeria has indicated interest to seek re-election into the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council during the forthcoming Plenipotentiary Conferences.

NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed this at the ongoing session of the ITU Council taking place at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Danbatta said Nigeria being re-elected would help the country to continue to collaborate with and support ITU’s development agenda, ensure effective and efficient implementation of ITU Resolutions, implement inclusive programmes to foster universal use of ICT across all divides and provide a focused and strategic partnership.

The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Council. The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of the Union. It is the decision making body, which determines the direction of the Union and its activities.

The Council, on the other hand, acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union’s activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today’s dynamic, rapidly-changing telecommunications environment.

The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference for this year is scheduled to take place in Bucharest, Romania, from Monday, September 26 to October 14, 2022

Danbatta, during the session, said NCC’s vast experience as a long-standing member of the ITU has served as a booster to the commission in its effective implementation of government policies, and in stimulating regulatory initiatives focused on advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation.

He said the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the important role Information Communication Technology (ICT) will continue to play in ensuring peace, security and prosperity around the world.

“It is as a result of the enabling experiences in the ITU ecosystem that Nigeria continues to be active and forward-looking regarding the activities of the ITU as the leading organ of the United Nations (UN) in the area of ICT,” he said.

He emphasised that, as a long-standing member of the council, Nigeria has utilised ICT as a driver of socio-economic development not just for herself, but also for the benefit of the sub-region and the continent, given its role as a founding member and flagship promoter of the West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA).

The NCC boss said the robust experience in ITU has continued to enable Nigeria, through NCC, and was particularly instrumental to the recent management of a globally-acclaimed transparent auction of Fifth Generation (5G) licence in 2021; to achieve 40.88 per cent broadband penetration in Nigeria as at December 2021; implement robust financial inclusion initiatives; as well as in the promotion of universal access across institutions and communities in Nigeria through the NCC’s Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

“All these were made possible through the successful launch and implementation of policies to foster the use of ICTs across all sectors and enhance a digital economy,” he said.