On October 23, the Nigerian Senate confirmed Idris Olorunnimbe as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC), together with eight different members. The affirmation, following President Bola Tinubu’s nominations in August, restores a totally constituted management on the nation’s prime communications regulator after over a yr of working with an incomplete board.
Different confirmed board members embody Abraham Oshidami (Government Commissioner, Technical Providers), Rimini Makama (Government Commissioner, Stakeholder Administration), Maryam Bayi, Col. Abdulwahab Lawal (Rtd), Senator Lekan Mustafa, Chris Okorie, and Princess Oforitsenere Emiko, in addition to the Board Secretary.
The appointment ends a management vacuum that started after the tenure of the earlier board, led by Adeolu Akande, expired in 2023 underneath former President Muhammadu Buhari. Throughout that interval, the NCC functioned with out its full governance construction, a niche that many consultants mentioned restricted its means to offer sturdy coverage oversight amid speedy shifts in Nigeria’s digital economic system.
The Senate’s affirmation additionally completes the reconstitution of the Common Service Provision Fund (USPF) Board, chaired by Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Financial system, with Olorunnimbe serving as Vice Chairman. The transfer restores compliance with Part 5(3) of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which mandates that the Fee should at all times keep a duly constituted Board of Commissioners.
Governance restored on the NCC
The brand new management crew positions the NCC for renewed stability and strategic focus. Olorunnimbe assumes the chairmanship, whereas Aminu Maida has been reappointed as Government Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Government Officer (CEO), making certain continuity on the prime of the regulator’s govt arm. Collectively, they oversee Nigeria’s $75 billion telecommunications sector, at a time when digital transformation and regulatory reform are converging.
The NCC’s management mannequin, established by the NCA 2003, separates governance from operations. The Board of Commissioners offers strategic and coverage path, whereas govt administration handles day-to-day regulation, licensing, and enforcement. This construction was designed to safeguard the NCC’s independence and stop political interference whereas sustaining accountability to the Nigerian public.
Underneath this framework, the Chairman performs a non-executive, policy-focused function; guiding deliberations, making certain governance ideas, and aligning regulatory actions with nationwide priorities. The EVC, in distinction, leads operational execution, directing departments corresponding to Licensing, Spectrum Administration, Client Affairs, and Technical Requirements.
The non-executive Commissioners, typically missed in public discourse, are equally very important. Drawn from numerous skilled backgrounds, together with telecoms, finance, legislation, and public coverage, they characterize public and trade pursuits throughout the Board. Their function is to make sure transparency, steadiness competing pursuits, and stop each company seize and bureaucratic inertia.
Meet the brand new board members
Abraham Oshadami, appointed as Government Commissioner, Technical Providers, is a seasoned telecommunications engineer and regulator with 20 years of expertise in spectrum administration, community planning, and technical coverage formulation at NCC. He has performed a key function in advancing Nigeria’s broadband enlargement and making certain environment friendly use of spectrum sources.
Rimini Makama, serving as Government Commissioner, Stakeholder Administration, is understood for her work in public coverage, company communications, and digital inclusion. As a former public affairs lead within the expertise sector, she brings priceless expertise in bridging the hole between regulators, personal sector operators, and shoppers.
Maryam Bayi, a company governance and human capital growth knowledgeable, has held management positions in each the private and non-private sectors. She is understood for championing institutional reforms, strategic planning, and workforce capability constructing abilities that might be pivotal in strengthening the NCC’s inner governance. She was recalled to hitch the board after she retired from the Fee in 2019, after over 20 years of service.
Col. Abdulwahab Lawal (Rtd) is a retired navy officer and communications specialist. Lawal has a distinguished profession in nationwide safety and regulatory compliance. Earlier than his appointment, he served because the Chairman of the Kwara State Schooling Belief Fund (KwaraETF).
Senator Lekan Mustafa is a former legislator with expertise in public administration and policymaking. He represented the Ogun-East Senatorial District of Ogun State. Mustafa brings an understanding of the legislative course of and its intersection with digital regulation.
Chris Okorie, a expertise entrepreneur and enterprise strategist, has experience in authorized practices and is concerned in ICT-driven enterprises centered on connectivity, digital commerce, and youth innovation.
Oforitsenere Emiko is an entrepreneur and an advocate for ladies’s empowerment in expertise. Emiko has labored on a number of initiatives selling digital literacy and inclusion. Earlier than her appointment, she was Managing Director of Kian Smith Firm in Nigeria, a mining buying and selling firm.
A reform-driven management transition
Olorunnimbe’s appointment has sparked dialogue concerning the Tinubu administration’s path for telecom regulation. Referred to as the founder and Group CEO of The Temple Firm, a world full-service inventive firm, headquartered in Lagos, Olorunnimbe brings expertise in management and strategic communications. His appointment is broadly seen as a transfer to inject recent vitality, visibility, and reform-oriented oversight into the Fee.
Public expectations are excessive that the brand new Chairman will convey a stronger deal with coverage innovation, digital inclusion, and stakeholder engagement. His management might be examined by challenges corresponding to balancing nationwide safety considerations with consumer privateness, managing the rollout of 5G, and driving broadband enlargement to underserved areas.
The EVC, Maida, continues to guide the NCC’s modernisation efforts, together with initiatives on spectrum effectivity, client safety, and data-driven regulation. Underneath Maida, the Fee has championed evidence-based policymaking, such because the publication of quarterly telecoms efficiency knowledge experiences, and nearer collaboration with trade gamers on 5G deployment, Proper-of-Manner harmonisation, and quality-of-service requirements. The total reconstitution of the Board is predicted to reinforce his capability to ship on these reforms by a clearer governance mandate.
Why the board issues
The NCC’s effectiveness relies upon closely on the synergy between its Board and govt administration. The Board units strategic path, the EVC drives execution, and the directorates ship outcomes. This layered mannequin ensures autonomy, transparency, and alignment with nationwide ICT coverage aims.
Financially, the Fee stays self-sustaining. Its revenues, drawn from licence charges, spectrum gross sales, and regulatory expenses, are managed by an impartial funds permitted by the Nationwide Meeting. But independence doesn’t equal isolation; the NCC works intently with companies corresponding to NITDA, the Nigeria Web Registration Affiliation (NiRA), and the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Financial system to form Nigeria’s broader digital economic system.
A completely useful Fee is predicted to spice up investor confidence, strengthen oversight, and speed up Nigeria’s push towards ubiquitous broadband and digital inclusion.
As the brand new management settles in, the telecom trade, which contributes practically 16% to Nigeria’s GDP, might be watching intently. With the NCC now again to full capability, stakeholders anticipate a extra coherent and decisive regulatory regime able to addressing rising points from AI coverage to cybersecurity and infrastructure sharing.
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