The multi-storey Glass House headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, in Maitama, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, is now literally a theatre of war. And the contenders are some commissioners within the telecoms regulatory agency and a number of key private sector players in the Nigerian telecoms/information and communications technology, ICT, industry, jostling to take over from Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice-chairman, EVC, and chief executive officer of the NCC whose tenure ends in April 2010.
Ndukwe, an engineer, appointed on February 18, 2000, has served out the maximum 10-year tenure of five years each as stipulated by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and is due to vacate the office on April this year thus paving the way for the intense lobbying and power-play that has characterised activities at the commission’s headquarters in recent times. Some of the top contenders for the NCC plum job include Bashir Gwandu and Stephen Bello, both executive commissioners in the NCC in charge of technical services and stakeholder management, respectively.
Others are ICT professionals and private sector players such as Emmanuel Ekuwem, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON; Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, ALTON; and Lanre Ajayi, president, Nigerian Internet Group, NIG. Ibrahim Nahuche, former managing director of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, NITEL, Kenneth Aigbinode, first executive vice-chairman of ZOOM mobile, and Manny Aniebonam, an ICT expert in the Diaspora, Eugene Juwa, a former top brass of MTS First Wireless, a privately-owned phone company and Umar Garba Danbatta, a professor at the Digital Bridge Institute, DBI, are also said to be in the race to become EVC of the NCC for the next five years.
Although, not a few Nigerians insist that the choice of who eventually occupies the highly coveted seat of EVC of the NCC must be based on his ability to consolidate and also improve on the gains of the revolution in the industry in the last 10 years under Ndukwe’s watch, a reliable source close to the regulatory agency informed the magazine last week that the choice of his successor would be largely determined by geopolitical considerations. The source, who declined to be mentioned, alleged that some top officials of the NCC from the North have since mounted intense pressure on the Presidency to ensure that the next EVC of the NCC comes from the northern axis.
The source also alleged that the same top officials from the North, who felt that it was their turn to be in the driving seat of the telecoms sector believed to be the most vibrant actually orchestrated the earlier botched attempt to unseat Ndukwe on the ground that he had crossed the 60-year age threshold stipulated for public officials. The plot would have cut short his second tenure but for the intervention of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who asked him to stay on and complete his second term. The President’s decision to allow Ndukwe complete his second term was based partly on his sterling performance as the EVC of the now internationally renounced telecoms regulatory agency and partly in accordance with the provisions of the Communications Act, the enabling law of the telecoms regulatory agency.
But wit with the coast now cleared following the completion of a maximum of two terms by the outgoing NCC boss, which effectively made the seat vacant, the source said that the same northern elements have since re-grouped in order to ensure that one of their own becomes the new EVC of the NCC. Already, the group is said to be canvassing the argument that since Ndukwe, the current EVC and Cletus Iromantu, his predecessor, are both from the South-east geopolitical zone of the country; it is the turn of the North to occupy the seat this time. Already, there are speculations last week that Gwandu, a northerner, may have been favoured for the job. He is said to enjoy the support of Tanimu Yakubu, the economic adviser to the President. Yakubu is believed to have since recommended him to the President.
Apart from his ethnicity and closeness to Yakubu, who has the ears of President Yar’Adua, Gwandu’s chances of becoming the next EVC of the NCC is further enhanced by the fact that he has worked closely with Ndukwe, which puts him in the mould of a natural successor to the incumbent. It is, however, not clear how far such closeness to the powers that be would help him considering his alleged ignoble role in last year’s failed plot to unseat Ndukwe when he was yet to complete his second term in office over spurious issues bordering on Ndukwe’s age.
- Gwandu was said to be the arrowhead of the plot, which analysts say is capable of denying him the opportunity of becoming the next EVC of the NCC if moral uprightness is deployed as one of the yardsticks for the choice of the next EVC of the NCC. Besides, Gwandu’s relationship with the incumbent i
the incumbent is said to have been strained in the wake of the botched plot to the extent that Ndukwe may not be favourably disposed to having the executive commissioner succeed him.
Bello, another northerner and top brass of the NCC, also has his eyes on the leadership of the agency. Bello, who is currently executive commissioner, stakeholder management, was appointed director of engineering in NCC in 2000 and executive commissioner, engineering and standards. In 2005, he was executive commissioner, licensing and consumer affairs. Like Gwandu, he has the advantage of insider knowledge of the agency having worked closely with the incumbent in mostly sensitive areas of the agency. Already, Bello is said to be on the list of likely successors forwarded by the board chaired by Ahmed Joda for consideration by the Presidency through Ikra Bilbis, minister of state for communications, who oversees the agency following new guidelines last year from the Presidency.
As some top officials of the NCC from the North are lobbying the Presidency for the top job, stakeholders within the telecoms/ICT sector where Ndukwe was picked to head the commission, however, prefer that one of their own who is a tested ICT professional with a track record of performance and management of a telecoms company be allowed to take over. Some of them argue that this is important in order to consolidate and improve on the gains of the revolution in the sector in the last 10 years. Their believe is that any choice based on ethnic or other considerations rather than managerial and technical competence may make or mar the sector, which, for now, is the most vibrant.
Before his his appointment, Ndukwe was the president of ATCON, a powerful body that has been in the forefront of setting agenda for the telecoms/ICT industry. His achievements at ATCON, to a large extent, oiled his way to the NCC top job. The thinking in the industry is that another person from the private sector of telecoms/ICT should be allowed to lead the NCC.
This, perhaps, explains why Ekuwem, an ICT expert and chief executive of Teledom Group, an indigenous conglomerate has indicated interest in the plum job. He was president of NIG before he took over the leadership of ATCON. Ekuwem is the brain behind the current campaign for SIM card registration, which the NCC has since embraced and has already set out the modalities for its implementation.
Although, many people believe that Ekuwem is the best man for the job, the only thing that may stand in his way to the exalted seat is perhaps, the fact that he comes from the same South-east geopolitical zone with Ndukwe. The politics of rotation may work against him especially with the North seriously scheming to consolidate their hold on power by ensuring the emergence of their own an the next EVC of the NCC. Adebayo, his colleague at ALTON, may also face the same hurdle even though he is from the South-west.
Adebayo, a thorough-bred professional and one of the respected voices on industry issues, is also favoured for the job. And he enjoys the backing of telecoms companies, having been in the forefront of the campaign against multiple taxation of operators by various tiers of government. He also successfully fought the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency, LASIMRA, to a standstill over a standstill over the imposition of multiple levies and taxes on service providers.
Virtually all other contenders to the coveted seat such as Ajayi, Nahuche, Aigbinode, Aniebonam, and Danbatta, parade intimidating credentials and professional competence needed for the NCC top job. While some of them may fall by the wayside on account of attaining the 60-year age threshold for public servants, others may be victims of political manoeuvrings. What is certain, however, is that whoever emerges the new EVC of the NCC would definitely have a tough job in his hands considering the record set by the incumbent EVC. The successful candidate’s leadership would be measured by the huge and indelible landmark left on the country’s telecoms landscape by Ndukwe within a remarkably short period of 10 years.
For instance, under Ndukwe’s watch, the country and the international community saw the first transparent digital mobile licence, DML, auction. The successful conduct of the mobile licence sale was to usher in the big mobile operators, a development that also set off the famed mobile telephony revolution in the country, and a positive market evolution for which the head of the telecoms regulator became the reference point in regulatory matters. His deft management and regulation of the sector in the last 10 years has been described by the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, as exemplary. Many countries across the globe have since been coming to Nigeria to understudy the NCC and replicate same in their countries. The opening of the sector has since deepened the country’s investment portfolio to the tune of over $18 billion, N2.7 trillion.
From less than 400,000 telephone lines in 2001, the sector has since witnessed a geometric growth in subscriber base of over 70 million fixed and mobile telephone lines. Ndukwe, however, says that his achievements could be summarised in three areas, namely, the building of a regulatory institution that now has international recognition and respect; the impact on the economy and the fact that today, telecoms services are now common place in Nigeria. He told the magazine in a recent interview that the NCC was regarded as a reference regulatory agency in Africa and the world in general because of the achievements it had recorded. “Many countries have continued to send their regulators to Nigeria to understudy us and learn a few things from what we are doing,” he said.
He further explained that telecoms had greatly impacted the economy such that Nigerians had been experiencing a major boom in other sectors. According to him, employment has been impacted positively as the ICT industry has suddenly become a major contributor to the fight against unemployment in the country. “Many people have found all kinds of jobs and vocations within the telecoms industry. Apart from those who are directly employed by the telecoms companies, there are those who are doing businesses and supporting the industry, selling recharge cards, selling mobile phones, repairing mobile phones, supporting the operating companies, building sites, selling lands, becoming agents for all kinds of activities and being community liaison officers,” Ndukwe pointed out.
His achievements, however, did not come without challenges and trials. For instance, last year, Ndukwe wa year, Ndukwe was at the centre of a bitter row with Dora Akunyili, minister of information and communications, over his handling of the controversial 2.3 gigahertz, GHz, spectrum auction. The alleged needless and overbearing tendencies of Akunyili, however, led to the cancellation of the sale by President Yar’Adua, who asked the NCC to rerun the exercise following allegation that it was flawed and non-transparent. The controversy, however, did not diminish Ndukwe’s towering profile , which analysts say has thrown up a big challenge for whoever becomes the next EVC.
“Ndukwe is a professional and all have seen what he has done. If you want to sustain and improve on the good job, you need to replace him with a professional with cognate experience in the industry,” Chris Uwaje, president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, said, adding that things would get better the more the industry is managed by professionals in government service. “When it comes to board appointments, you may deploy other considerations but for the position of the EVC, I would suggest a professional ICT person,” he said.
He is not the only one canvassing for a professional in the mould of Ndukwe to take over the job. Titi Omo-Ettu, vice president, Council for the Registration of Engineers, COREN, also insists that a sound telecoms engineer is the best for the job. His reason is that such professional is most suitable spectrum management matters. “I don’t know how anybody who is not an engineer would be able to supervise the management of spectrum. The position needs a sound engineer that has been involved in management at senior level. The person must also understand management and finance,” he said, adding that since most of the problems in the sector in Africa are about spectrum, whoever emerges must have sound knowledge of the international politics of telecoms.
It is not yet clear whether government would consider these recommendations in the choice of the EVC of the NCC or allow itself to be carried away by pecuniary considerations that may, in the long run, fritter away the gains of the revolution in the sector so far. What is clear, however, is that whoever emerges would certainly have a tough job before him considering the fact that the sector is still in its infancy, requiring all the necessary push to take it to the next level.
Ndukwe: Tenure ends April 2010
Ekuwem: In the race to become EVC
Gwandu: Being touted as the next EVC
Uwaje: Advises government to appoint an ICT professional as EVC, NCC
Omo-Ettu: Insists telecoms engineers are best for the job |
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