Nigeria’s Telecom Contribution To GDP Hits 16 Per Cent – Prof. Danbatta
The telecommunications sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased significantly to 16 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, according to the data reported by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), based on the computation by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, dropped this hint yesterday, September 7, in a keynote address at the annual Telecom Executives and Regulators Forum (TERF) hosted by the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) in Lagos.
According to Professor Danbatta, from a 14.13 per cent contribution in the first quarter of 2023, and up from the hitherto 15 per cent all-time-high record in the second quarter of 2022, the telecommunications sector had added 16 per cent to the national GDP in the second quarter of 2023 to set a new record.
Speaking on the theme: “Success Factors and Barriers to National Broadband and Digital Economy Aspirations,” Professor Danbatta said that from about eight per cent contribution to GDP in 2015, when he came on board as the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, the quarterly GDP has increased significantly to reach its current threshold of 16 per cent.
He said that this has continued to positively impact all aspects of the economy.
“Through sustained regulatory excellence and operational efficiency by the Commission, the industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the past two decades and this has impacted on all other sectors of the economy. The effective regulatory regime emplaced by the NCC and with the support from all stakeholders has been our major success factor as an industry.”
Professor Danbatta said that while there are barriers to broadband deployment in the country, ranging from the issue of right of way (RoW), fibre cuts, high capital requirement for deployment, multiple taxations and regulations, among other challenges, the NCC is navigating regulatory complexities, digital divide and literacy, security concerns with firmness and increased collaborations with necessary stakeholders such as ATCON to create measures towards tackling the challenges.
On the RoW challenge, the NCC boss said that there are about 46 different taxes directed at the telecom sector at the moment. Such charges and levels, coming in various names, are imposed on telecom operators by some agencies and tiers of government, especially at the state and local levels. Danbatta said the challenge translates into greater economic burdens on telecom subscribers in the country.
On connectivity, Danbatta said: “Over the years, we have identified some clusters of access gaps all over the country but we have recorded a significant drop in the number of access gaps, as we continue to drive initiatives that boost access to telecommunications services.”
He said that the Commission does this by enlisting government commitment to a digital economy with robust policy frameworks, promotion of investment and funding, stimulation of infrastructure development, digital inclusion and literacy, promotion of competition and market liberalization, effective allocation of spectrum, as well as driving the e-government ecosystem.
Danbatta said that with various ongoing regulatory efforts, “The NCC is confident that we are going to reach 50 per cent broadband penetration threshold by the end of 2023 and by 2025, we would have met and possibly surpassed the 70 per cent broadband penetration target, as contained in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025.”
The NCC boss commended ATCON and its members for being partners in progress and for constantly engaging the Commission in constructive ways towards finding solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the industry. The EVC said a national broadband network and a thriving digital economy are not without their challenges.
“However, these challenges can be overcome through determination, innovation, and strategic planning. By focusing on the success factors and addressing the barriers, we can create a future where every Nigerian have access to the opportunities that the digital world offers.”
Danbatta said that the success of the nation’s digital aspirations is beyond technological advancements but also about transforming lives, driving economic growth, and ensuring that a nation remains competitive on the global stage.
“As we work together to navigate this path, I enjoin all our stakeholders in the public and private sectors to remain committed to building a brighter and more connected future for our country.”
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) has fined three political parties for filing what it described as “frivolous petitions.’
The Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has admitted that he lost the battle at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) yesterday, but that the war is yet to be won and lost.
There Would Have Been Second Civil War If Peter Obi Had Won, By Reno Omokri
If Peter Obi had won the #NigerianElections2023, or at the Presidential Election Petition Court, there would have been a civil war in Nigeria.
This is because he and his Obidients were just too arrogant and were already recreating, and would have further recreated the events that led up to the Nigerian Civil War. Let me explain:
During the elections, there was nothing they did not do, including cyberbullying, threatening, abusing, insulting, name-calling, accusing, hounding, targeting, ganging up, mocking, caricaturing, and harassing anyone who refused to support them. I did not say anyone who was fighting them. No. Anyone who refused to support them. They made minimal attempts to be persuasive. It was just nogbu nzogbu, enyimba enyi!
They had a warped sense of entitlement that you must support Peter Obi, and if you did not, then you are supporting a “wrong candidate” (the exact words they used).
They were more fascistic than Mussolini. In terms of education, Peter Obi is at the bottom of the barrel, with his second-class degree in Philosophy. You can’t compare him to a PhD in Water Engineering (Kwankwaso), a Master’s with Distinction in International Relations (Atiku) and a BSc in Accounting (Tinubu). Joseph, have the fear of God and answer this question-am: Am I lying?
In terms of achievements in office, as vice President, Waziri Atiku led the National Economic Council, which paid off our entire foreign debt to the Bretton Woods institution and gave us a 7% GDP consistent annual growth rate. As Governor, Tinuhu built new cities from scratch, ports, rail infrastructure, roads, hospitals l, industries, independent power stations, paid civil servants, and mentored men like Osinbajo, Fashola, Aregbesola, Fayemi, Akabueze and co, who are now movers and shakers. He also increased Lagos’s internally generated revenue by 360%.
In contrast, when asked about his flagship achievement in office, Peter Obi pointed to a brewery, which has been proven to be a loss-making enterprise. Although he invested in schools already built, for which I applaud him, he did not build a single new school.
But he was the right candidate, and anyone who did not support him must be pilloried.
What led to the Nigerian Civil War? It began with the January 15, 1966 coup at which Majors Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Chukwuma Nzeogwu, Chris Anuforo, and Don Okafor killed political and military leaders from every region of Nigeria except theirs.
Major Adewale Ademoyeg was involved with the plotting but not the killing, unlike the others who participated in the massacre.
And in 2023, after Peter Obi lost, prominent Obidients with direct ties to Peter Obi were openly calling for a military coup to restore Obi’s mandate. These guys have learned nothing!
And that was only one reason for the civil war. The other reason was the arrogance and caricaturing of other Nigerians by supporters of Majors Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna (the coup leaders) after the coup.
Soon after the coup, some of their supporters printed almanacs with caricatures insulting prominent Northern, Western and Mid-Western leaders.
In one of the almanacs, Chukwuma Nzeogwu was shown with his leg on top of Sir Ahmadu Bello’s head. Interestingly, in that almanac, Ahmadu Bello’s head was put on the body of a goat.
Those almanacs outraged Northerners and made them turn against the Aguiyi Ironsi-led government.
In February of 1966, a famous Igbo highlife maestro named Celestine Ukwu released a song titled Ewu Ne Ba Akwa, meaning ‘the goat is crying’.
Rightly or wrongly, other Nigerians believed that that song was mocking the killing of the late Sardauna by Nzeogwu. That song and the almanac mocking the Sardauna ignited a pogrom against Igbos in the North. And things eventually descended to civil war.
Is that not what happened in 2023? Were Obidients not caricaturing those who refused to support Peter Obi? I personally was caricatured. Waziri Atiku, Bola Tinubu and their supporters were also caricatured. New Celestine Ukwu songs of 2023 were composed to insult those who supported other candidates instead of their right candidate.
And just as their leaders did not caution them in 1966, so did Peter Obi not caution them in 2022/23. There was no low or dirty thing they did not do, including publishing the photos of Justice Tsamani’s children along with threats to kill them (as they did with my then one-year-old daughter) and recruiting
Rufai Oseni to lie against me and others.
And then there was the Yes Daddy leaked audio, which revealed their true intention for the Muslim Ummah.
History does not repeat itself. Irresponsible people repeat history and then blame history for repeating itself. Peter Obi is one of such people, and I urge Nigerians to remember what he and his supporters stand for. Never forget. Keep that memory fresh. Because Peter and his horde will think we have forgotten and will try to hoodwink us in 2027. We must not fall for it.