Nigerian govt to unveil 5-year plan for digital economy

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Tuesday unveil a five-year (2020-2025) Strategic Management Plan (SMP) in line with the objective of creating a seamless strategy to improve its management and regulation of the telecommunications sector in the country.

According to a statement issued by the NCC on Sunday, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami will unveil and launch the SMP, supported by the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the NCC, Adeolu Akande and the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of the NCC, Umar Garba Danbatta.

The SMP aims to leverage the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and the new National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 Roadmaps. It will also embrace the guiding principles and serves as the operations manual for the NCC in actualising the digital economy agenda of the Nigerian government in the next five years.

“Essentially, the SMP which was developed in-house with the stamp of the Management and Board is a visioning document of the Commission for planning, monitoring, analysing and assessment of the Commissions goals and objectives in the next five (5) years.
“It will be resident in the Corporate Planning, Strategy and Risk Management Department which will ensure that the contents of the document become the guiding principles for the Commission in the next five years,” the document read in part.

Pantami had in the second week of June during an NCC team’s visit to his office in Abuja said the decision to recommend Danbatta’s reappointment to the president was “to ensure stability in the telecommunication industry and consolidate on the gains and successes already recorded in the industry in the last five years.”

During the visit, he stressed that part of the priorities of the current administration was to develop the digital economy with a view to increasing its importance, given that the coronavirus pandemic had left many individuals and organisations relying on digital platforms for work and collaboration.