By Dipo Olowookere
The federal government has assured telecommunications companies operating in Nigeria, including MTN Nigeria Plc, a friendly environment, with the expectation that the economy will benefit from their investments.
This assurance was made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, when the top management of MTN Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit.
The team was led by the Chairman, Board of Directors of MTN Nigeria, Dr Ernest Ndukwe, who was once the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Mr Ndukwe visited the Minister to introduce the CEO Designate of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, to him.
The former NCC chief, who commended Mr Pantami for his policies and vision for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, said MTN Nigeria will continue to support the policies of the federal government.
In his remarks, the MTN CEO designate also commended the Minister for the leadership he is providing in the sector, which he said has already led to the development of the National Broadband Plan 2020 – 2025 and the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise.
He said MTN Nigeria was fully in support of the exercise, which is aimed to boost the security of the nation and help the country’s data industry.
On his part, Mr Pantami pledged the commitment of the federal government to provide the enabling environment for the telecommunications sector to thrive, assuring that policies that will stifle development in the sector will not be formulated.
The telecommunications industry in Nigeria has a huge contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. The sector is one of the non-oil sectors that has consistently recorded growth.
In the third quarter of last year, when Nigeria officially slipped into a recession after a contraction of 3.62 per cent, the telecommunications industry, which is under the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, grew by 17.36 per cent.
Adedapo Adesanya