How FG raked N49.7bn through NCC in 3 months

Consistent with the provisions of Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has remitted N49.7 billion to the coffers of the Federal Government in the first quarter of 2018.

Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, who disclosed this on Thursday, stated that the figure represented the payment on account in respect of payment surplus for the period, noting that such payments are to be made every year after preparation of audited accounts.

Ojobo, however, opined that the NCC has taken the initiative to be making payments on account as it generates revenue.

On what the Act says about where to pay the balance of operating surplus and what to allocate at the end of each financial year, Ojobo said:

“Section 22, Sub section 1 of the Act states that notwithstanding the provisions of any written law governing the Corporation, each Corporation shall establish a general reserve fund and shall allocate thereto at the end of each financial year, one fifth of its operating surplus for the year.

“Section 22, Sub section 2 of the Act is clear about this – the balance of the operating surplus shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government not later than one month following the statutory deadline for publishing each Corporations Account.’’

He added that the funds remitted were besides “Spectrum Assignment fees which are remitted 100 per cent to the Federal Government in line with Section 17, Sub section 3 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA 2003).’’

Speaking on the impact of the telecoms sector on the Nigerian economy, Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said the telecoms sector had contributed N1.45 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2017, while the figures rose to N1.59 trillion in the second quarter of the same year.

Danbatta said that the commission would keep date with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to “identify and track how these trends continue, adding that the telecoms industry contribution to GDP in Nigeria stood at 10 per cent yearly in the last four years.

According to him, the sector has grown from a paltry investment in the sector and has ballooned from 50 million dollars 2001 to 70 billion dollars as at September, 2017, noting that Value Added Services (VAS) segment of the sector investment is over 200 million dollars and estimated to hit 500 million dollars by the turn of 2021.

“The industry has provided direct and indirect employment to millions of Nigerians and over 150 million subscribers are connected to various networks with broadband penetration currently at 22 per cent, according to the UNESCO/ITU Sustainable Development Goal (SDG),” he said.