In line with its culture of inclusiveness, collaboration and partnership as predicated in its strategic focus, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said consulting stakeholders on issues affecting telecommunication services deployments and developments is key.
This is one of the takehomes from a courtesy visit from the Food Basket Foundation International (FBFI), led by its Chief Executive Officer, Funmi Akinyele to the NCC Headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission (EVC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka affirmed that the Commission is committed to strengthening its regulation of the telecommunication sector, particularly providing the solid infrastructure and general industry regulations.
Meanwhile, Funmi Akinyele has commended the Commission’s regulatory excellence, highlighting its effort in ensuring there are regulations, frameworks and guidelines to guard the telecoms sector and online civic space.
Akinyele expressed concerns about the state of social media with uncontrolled content.
According to Akinyele, the visit to the regulator was to explore areas of collaboration in its programme to protect the digital civic space by combating misinformation and disinformation while mitigating risks to the digital civic space to ensure electoral integrity before, during and after the 2023 General Elections.
This initiative, she explained, comes under one of FBFI’s projects, dubbed, Safeguarding Digital Civic Space for Electoral Integrity (SDSEI).
Responding, Muoka informed the team that the Commission is not responsible for the content of the social media as there are other government agencies that are responsible for that.
However, the Commission has engaged in several aspects of protection of the users of the Internet, such as initiatives towards Child Online Protection, COP, deployment of the Computer Security Incident Response Team, NCC-CSIRT, set up to monitor cyber-attacks in Nigerian cyberspace, in addition to the activities of the Commission’s department of New Media and Information Security set up to address the issue of cybersecurity.
“We have tried not to be a closed organization. We give lots of premiums to consultations and collaborations, especially in the areas that will ensure that the consumers and stakeholders understand what is going on and make input that enriches the quality of regulations, as well as being able to access the information they may require to safeguard themselves and the society,” he noted.