The Chairman House Committee on Telecommunications, Mr Saheed Akinade-Fijabi, has said the House will approve the controversial 9 per cent Communication Tax being pushed by the Federal Government as one of the ways to shore up revenue. He spoke Political Economist in an exclusive interview at the just-ended ITU Telecom World forum in Bangkok, Thailand.
The proposed tax bill now before the National Assembly has raised so much dust especially from Nigerian telecom consumers ad operators who argued that such tax would push up the cost of telecom services both for the consumers and the service providers. But Fijabi said “we will do it”, echoing the general sentiments among the lawmakers that the bill will scale through and become an Act of Parliament, very soon. He praised the Nigerian telecom market for its reliance.
He said: “I think I’ll rate telecom market in the average; it is an industry that is still growing. At least out of the GDP of Nigeria for the year, telecoms contributed 9 per cent which is an increase from last year and I think with the level of innovation in the industry there’s still room for improvement.
“Now that we keep saying that the country wants to diversify, I think this is another sector we can look as it will continue to create a lot of employment and other opportunities. Even in education, farming and the likes, telecom is needed. I can see the industry growing from where it is now to the highest point you can think of.
“We have a good relationship with the NCC. With the present management of Prof. Umar Danbatta, I think he’s doing a great job and with our support. We’re all under the government and all we need is checks and balances. We’ve checked ourselves and I think he’s doing a great job which is why we’re supporting him, and that is what we want; to support him and not run after him.
“The laws and amendment in the laws are some of the ways we’re supporting the industry. There’s the infrastructure bill which is currently on the floor of the House which I think is very germane to the success of the industry and we’re looking forward to having it passed into law.
There’s also the e-government bill in Nigeria; where we can link all government parastatals to a system like is currently being practised in South Korea. The National Assembly and House of Reps are ready and willing to discharge their duties in passing these bills into law.
He encouraged foreign investors to invest in the country. “Nigeria has a virgin telecoms market that can still be tapped into. All over the world countries have their shortcomings- from security to power etc. But still that shouldn’t stop one from investing. It is when they come in that we can sit together to find a lasting solution to whatever problem there is in the nation”.
