Key highlights
- Telecom stakeholders including ATCON and ALTON said the pending NITDA bill will discourage investors if passed into law.
- They fear this could worsen the issue of multiple regulations and multiple taxation in the telecoms industry.
- While calling for the withdrawal of the bill which is currently before the National Assembly, they urged NITDA to focus on its core mandate of IT development in Nigeria.
Stakeholders in the telecommunications industry have said that the bill to change the status of the National Information Development Agency (NITDA) from a developmental agency to a regulatory body, would discourage investors and further shrink Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) coming into telecoms.
The experts, who spoke at the 5th Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) held in Lagos, called for the withdrawal of the NITDA Bill, which is currently before the National Assembly. According to them, having NITDA as another regulator in the telecom sector would send the wrong signal to investors as it means they would have to be subjected to multiple regulations and fees if they invest in the industry.
ALTON, ATCON kick against the bill
Representatives of the two leading telecom industry associations in Nigeria, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) were unequivocal about their displeasure with the bill.
Speaking at the forum, the Executive Secretary of ATCON, Mr Ajibola Olude, said:
- “Our major concern is that this bill if passed into law, will negatively impact FDIs coming into the sector. Foreign investors are monitoring with keen interest to see how this bill is handled before they make their decision and this is because they have also studied the bill and observed the anomalies in it with regard to multiple regulations and multiple taxations. This bill is capable of eroding the gains the telecom industry has recorded over the last 21 years.”
The Head of Operations at ALTON, Mr Gbolahan Awonuga said NITDA as a developmental agency should rather focus on its mandate of driving ICT development in the country rather than trying to regulate the same space that is already being regulated.
- NITDA wants to type approve when we already have the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC. NITDA wants to be collecting an annual operational revenue, while we are already paying an Annual Operating Levy to the NCC. This is not going to augur well for the industry if the bill is passed. NITDA should focus on its developmental roles,” Awonuga said.
Also speaking at the forum, the Chief Executive Officer of ICT Derivatives Ltd., Mr Ayoola Oke, said the NITDA Act of 2007 had a central purpose to facilitate the adoption of ICT throughout the nation in the private and public sectors, and consequently support its infrastructure and connectivity.
Oke said that the new NITDA bill is not an amendment but a reenactment as it seeks to make the agency a regulator. He said the agency’s primary function was to focus on developing business, talents and job creation, noting that there were agencies already carrying out regulatory functions in the ICT industry.
- “Adding regulatory functions to NITDA’s agenda would only lead to duplicating existing laws and policies,” Oke said.
Why NITDA bill
Speaking earlier on the need to discuss the NITDA bill, the Lead Executive of PIAFo, Mr Omobayo Azeez said while NITDA has been a major contributor to Nigeria’s ICT development alongside other agencies of the government under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, and beyond, the dust raised around its pending Bill could not be ignored in the interest of Nigeria’s growing ICT sector and the country’s fast-pacing digital economy drive.
The NITDA Act 2007, which establishes the agency says its main objective is to use ICT as a tool in tertiary institutions to drive the mechanism of the education sector in the country. As the agency of the Federal Government responsible for developing Information Technology in Nigeria, NITDA is empowered by its enabling Act to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardisation, application, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of IT practices, activities, and systems in Nigeria.
