The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has concluded plans to organize a Sectoral Virtual Forum that would address the need of telecom/ICT Consumers in the COVID-19 and Post COVID-19 Pandemic and the Digital Economy era.
ATCON said in a statement on Tuesday, signed by its Executive Secretary, Ajibola Olude that the principal goal of the Sectoral Virtual Forum which holds on Thursday, August 6, 2020, is meeting the new broadband target of 70%.
“This time around, ATCON is providing a veritable platform for Governments, Consumers (corporate and personal) and Telecommunications and ICT Companies to rob minds on how consumers can be better off in terms of effective delivery of telecoms and ICT services and products in Nigeria.
“The centrality of the consumer to the projected growth of the Nigerian telecoms and ICT Sector cannot be overlooked in the area of the needed investment to accelerate the progress of our sector.
“With the emergence of the digital economy in Nigeria coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, many economic transactions would be done digitally going forward,” Olude said in the statement.
He said that in actualizing this dream of giving Nigerian telecoms and ICT consumers a place in the heart of Governments and Telecoms and ICT Companies, all hands must be on deck in that governments must make laws that encourage further investment into the sector.
“Telecommunications and ICT companies must make consumers’ satisfaction their priority. And the consumers must support the telecoms and ICT companies by requesting the government to relax its exorbitant taxes and levies. In addition, telecoms and ICT companies must be able to buy Forex directly from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” Olude said.
The Executive Secretary recalled that the Nigerian telecom sector has witnessed two major important developments which includes President Muhammadu Buhari, on October 23, 2019, renaming the ministry which supervises the Telecoms and ICT Sector to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
President Buhari further expanded the Ministry’s mandate to capture the goals of digitalization of the Nigerian economy in line with the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP) and the global outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“These two important developments will form the basis of the continued development of the Telecoms and ICT Sector in the next few years.
“The anticipated growth and development of this sector is hinged on the role of the government in terms of regulation and policy directions, the telecom and ICT companies and finally the end-users (consumers),” Olude noted.
He disclosed that ATCON being conventionally committed to the continuous progress of the Nigerian telecoms and ICT Sector plans to use this sectoral forum to proffer lasting solutions as well as galvanize support from the government, telecom companies and the consumers in the era of COVID-19 and Post COVID-19 for Digital Economy Development.
The forum will also be used to look at the areas of increasing the contributions of the sector geometrically to Nigeria’s GDP by considering some of the challenges of these catalysts of development with a view to solving them.
Themed: “Meeting the Interests of Government, Consumers and Telecom & ICT Companies in the Era of COVID-19 and Post Covid-19 Pandemic for Digital Economy Development,” the Virtual Forum will be live on Zoom, Facebook and other social platforms.
Olude further disclosed that the strategic objectives of this very important sectoral forum would include a convergence of regulator’s Interests -to ensure a competitive telecom market and fast track development of the telecom industry.
It will also focus on Operator’s Interests – an enabling environment for businesses and protection of investment in the sector; and Consumer’s Interests – to be satisfied in terms of quality of services, affordability and access; for Digital Economy Development.
The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will constitute the role of the government, while all members of ATCON and players in the industry will constitute the role of the Operators.
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), Consumer Rights Awareness Advancement And Advocacy Initiative (CRAAAI), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), will constitute the role of the consumers.
Other organisations like the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Nigerian Bar Association, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), and National Universities Commission, amongst others, will also constitute the role of consumers.
According to the ATCON Executive Secretary, “The interdependence among the government, telecom and ICT Companies and Nigerians are clearly obvious but each of them has limitations and potentials hence the forum would make an attempt to address their limitations and turn them to advantage for the development of Nigerian Telecom and ICT Sector in the era of COVID-19 and Post COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Registration for participation in the forum is open at https://forms.gle/JVnFApRMF71MSnPf8