‘Poor corporate governance impacts telecoms sector’s growth negatively’

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said in spite of attracting over $70 billion investments in the last 17 years, nation’s telecommunications sector was still bugged down by poor corporate governance structure and issues.

It made the disclosure yesterday at the zonal sensitisation workshop on code of corporate governance for the telecoms sector in Kano.
  
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, in his opening remarks, noted that current evaluation report on the industry suggested that most challenges negatively affecting telecommunications operators could be attributed to poor corporate governance.

As a result, Danbatta said while not understating the impact of other external and fiscal issues in the sector, the NCC was determined to provide the needed regulatory interventions to ensure that it effectively plays the enabling role it was mandated to create by the NCA Act 2003.
 
He revealed that the commission was currently rejigging its regulatory oversights in ensuring that consumers get cost effective value for money spent on telecommunication services and that providers deliver quality and efficient services.
 
Danbatta disclosed that the NCC was benchmarking its performance standards on international best practices as a means of bolstering international confidence in the sector.
 
“It is our expectation that the sector would align fully with the operational standards to consolidate on the gains already attained and further position it for a more robust performance,” he stated.
   
Earlier in his address, Chairman of NCC Board, Olabiyi Durojaiye, said globally, Sector Regulatory Agencies and Corporate entities have embraced corporate governance as an effective tool for enhancing efficiency and transparency in companies’ day-to-day activities.
  
According to Durojaiye, having studied challenges facing some telecommunication companies, the commission decided to prescribe rules, practices and processes through which organisations could be directed and controlled by a code.