Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has been honoured with a National Service Excellence Award by the National Association of State Assembly Legislators (NASAL).
The honour is in recognition of the EVC’s transformational leadership in deepening access to telecommunications services across state constituencies of Nigeria in the last five years.
The Award is coming barely few months after Prof. Danbatta was reappointed by President Buhari as the country’s chief telecoms regulator for another term of five years.
Hon. Uchechukwu Chukwuma, Director-General of NASAL, who headed a five-man delegation to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, where the award was presented to the EVC commented:
“The award from NASAL not only underscores the remarkable leadership role by Danbatta in deepening the development and growth of the telecoms sector at the grassroots but also demonstrates the pivotal role of the EVC as a change agent, a catalyst for national development and a great Nigerian patriot.”
The Director-General said that in the past five years, NASAL has continued to monitor the Danbatta-led NCC activities and have observed significant improvements in Nigeria’s telecoms services across state constituencies.
According to the Director-General, “Danbatta’s efforts have manifested in enhanced access to the Internet by our people, which has given them the opportunity to participate and ventilate their views constructively.
As you know, citizens’ participation in political activities is one of the attributes of an ideal democracy and Prof. Danbatta has helped to promote this ideal,”
Statistics from the NCC justifies the award conferred by NASAL on the EVC, as indications show that when Prof. Danbatta assumed office five years ago, 40 million Nigerians were excluded from access to telecoms services due to 217 access gap clusters in Nigeria.
Five years down the line, the access gaps have been reduced to 114 clusters with 15 million Nigerians now added to the connection.
Receiving the award on behalf of Prof. Danbatta, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, expressed appreciation towards the awards by NASAL, stating that the honour serves as an encouragement and challenge for Prof. Danbatta and the NCC team to embark on more.
“It is heartwarming that NASAL has found our EVC and CEO deserving of this award. The award is an acknowledgement that his accomplishments have not gone unnoticed.
We at the NCC, value this gesture, which writes the history of Professor Danbatta’s achievements in a very distinctive and enduring way,” Adinde said.
Adinde echoed NASAL’s justification on recognising the EVC, as he cited several indicators that measured the telecom sector performance. An indication that the sector has grown impressively over the last five years under the leadership of Danbatta.
“From the recent industry statistics and other relevant macro indicators, the telecoms sector, under Danbatta, has recorded positive growth in terms of active voice subscriptions, internet subscriptions, teledensity, broadband penetration and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” Adinde added.
While noting that the last five years of Danbatta has witnessed a number of policy initiatives that have spurred industry growth and improved service delivery, Adinde restated the EVC’s commitment to ensuring that the Commission maintains its reputation as a foremost communications regulatory organisation.
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L- R: Bashir Bello, Head, Legislative and Government Relations, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Hon. Uchechukwu Chukwuma, Director General, National Association of State Assembly Legislators (NASAL); Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, NCC; Truddy Tony-Awusaku, Principal Manager, Public Affairs, NCC; Hon. Usman Ali, Co-ordinator, North-West Zone, NASAL, during the presentation of National Award of Excellence to Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NCC by NASAL at the Commission’s Headquarters Abuja. Adidnde received the award on behalf of the EVC.
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