By Ahmed Rahma
Over the weekend, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) bagged two reputable awards for its contributions to the fight against insecurity in the country.
For its harmonised emergency number, 112, and the construction of Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) in 36 states of the federation and the FCT, with 19 states already operational and additional five getting ready for activation, the commission won the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards (GWA) 2020.
The agency also received the African Public Relations Association’s (APRA) certificate of excellence for its efforts in leveraging the emergency communication centres for national security.
According to a press statement signed by the Director Public Affairs of the NCC, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, the presentation of the IPRA Golden Global Awards (GGA) 2020 to the commission had been scheduled to hold earlier this year in Germany but could not hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the event, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Malam Mukhtar Sirajo, applauded NCC for a culture of professionalism in the management of its corporate communications and public relations and noted that ‘this has been largely responsible its enviable corporate image and the many awards it had attracted over the years.’
At the Security and Emergency Management Award (SAEMA) 2020, the telco sector regulator was also declared the winner of Emergency Management Security and Emergency Management Award and presented with a Certificate of Excellence for ‘Outstanding Accomplishments in Category of Emergency Management’ at the event.
Also speaking, Malam Yusheu Shuaibu of Image Merchants Promotion Limited lauded the NCC for launching an impressive campaign on its emergency communications project.
“The ECCs were activated as a one-stop-shop for receiving distress calls from the public and dispatching same to appropriate Emergency Response Agencies (ERAs) for timely response and resolution of the distress.
“The ECC project had been in limbo until a new management under the leadership of Danbatta, embarked on the construction and operationalisation of the ECCs across states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) till date,” he explained.
At the maiden edition in 2019, the Executive Vice Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, was recognised as ‘Nigeria’s Goodwill Ambassador for Security and Emergency Management in Nigeria’ while the NCC, as a corporate organisation, was given with the ‘Corporate Social responsibility Award in Security and Emergency Management in the country.’
The NCC is an independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria which was created under Decree number 75 by the [Federal Military Government of Nigeria] on 24 November 1992.
The NCC was charged with the responsibility of regulating the supply of telecommunications services and facilities, promoting competition, and setting performance standards for telephone services in Nigeria. The Decree has been abrogated and replaced with the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003. Umar Garba is the present head of (NCC) assumed office since 2015.
