Theresa Igata

For a sector that has continued to show sterling performance due to the quality of regulatory oversight provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, the Commission says that the Code of Corporate Governance became imperative and was developed to raise the standard of leadership role as drivers of the overall growth of the national economy.

This was disclosed by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta at a sensitization workshop on the Code of Corporate Governance for the telecoms industry.

Danbatta who was speaking on the topic: Sustaining the Telecommunications industry as Leverage for the Next Generation Economy, said “We had a passive period of mandatory compliance and have tried to bring it to the industries notice.  This sensitisation is to let them understand  that ignorance is no longer an excuse”.

“The entrenchment of good corporate governance standards and practices has continued to gain global recognition and acceptance as the bedrock for corporate success and business sustainability,” Danbatta said.

“In the last sixteen years of the Telecoms revolutions, many operators have fallen by the way side, largely owing to internal management issues than from technical challenges. As we migrate more toward knowledge economy and higher level economy infrastructure dependency on internet and ICT support services it would no longer be desirable for such collapses to occur; hence the need to sensitise operators on those observed poor corporate governance practices which had contributed to failures in the past”

The adoption of the concepts and principles of the code, he added, are intended to present a win-win model of inter-relations predicted on openness, accountability, transparency and integrity. These he said would help the sector sustain its leadership role as drivers of the national economy.