NCC boss receives award

Umar Garba Danbatta, the executive vice-chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has been awarded a National Service Excellence Award.

National Association of State Assembly Legislators (NASAL) honoured Danbatta with the award in recognition of his transformational leadership in deepening access to telecommunications services across Nigeria in the last five years.

NASAL director general Uchechukwu Chukwuma, who led a five-member delegation to the commission to present the award in Abuja, said the award also recognised Danbatta’s role as a change agent, a catalyst for national development and a great Nigerian patriot.

“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,” Chukwuma said.

“As you know, citizens’ participation in political activities is one of the attributes of an ideal democracy, and Professor Danbatta has helped to promote this ideal.

“The NASAL’s award to Danbatta is justified by the statistics from the commission, which showed that when Danbatta came on board five years ago, 217 access gap clusters were identified in the country, with 40 million Nigerians excluded from access to telecoms services. Five years after, however, the access gaps have reduced to 114 clusters, with additional 15 million Nigerians now connected.”

NCC director of public affairs Ikechukwu Adinde, who accepted the award on behalf of Danbatta, said: “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.

“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.”

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