FG Sets Up Inter-Ministerial Committee To Address Telecom Industry Challenges

By Murphy Akanji

In an efforts to increase operational conditions and propose fiscal measures to cushion the impact of macroeconomic pressures on telecommunications operators in Nigeria, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani has set up a 5-man Ministerial Committee to address the challenges facing the industry.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday, March 22, 2024 by the Head of Press and Public Relations Unit, Kania Maliki Andeyaba.

According to the statement, the Ministerial Committee with a 6-point terms of reference, is set up to address issues faced by telecommunications companies in the process of delivering quality services to end users across the country.

The Minister, according to the statement, says “as a major contributor to our country’s GDP, the telecommunications industry is critical to the development of our nation as it helps to spur innovation and promote digital inclusion among Nigerians”.

Andeyaba said in the statement that The Terms of Reference for the Ministerial Committee, includes review of operational conditions of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria and propose strategic initiatives to cushion the impact of macroeconomic challenges on the operations of the Nigerian telecom industry.

Review fiscal measures with direct or consequential impact on the telecoms industry and propose initiatives that can provide relief to telecoms operators.

Consider and propose incentives to improve backward integration in the telecoms industry with a view to cumulative reductions on dependence on foreign exchange (FX) for the provisioning of telecoms services in Nigeria.

Review shared services and infrastructure arrangements in the industry and proposed incentives and policy direction to improve the competitiveness of the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

Review existing local content strategies for the telecoms sector, to realign all local content initiatives and programmes with the programmes and policies of the current administration.

The Committee has one month to turn in its report.