Speaking at the handover ceremony in Enugu, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, stated that the facilities were designed as launchpads for tech-enabled enterprise, startup incubation, and skill development. He explained that the decision to lease the assets followed the state government’s clear vision and ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, education, and talent development.

“These facilities were conceived as platforms for innovation, entrepreneurship, and human capital development,” Maida said. He emphasized that the true success of the park will be measured by its tangible impact—such as job creation, business growth, and practical skills development—rather than just the physical infrastructure itself.

Under the state’s management, the park is expected to support Enugu’s ambition to become a primary destination for digital services, artificial intelligence, business process outsourcing (BPO), and technical research.

Maida noted that the partnership aligns with the Federal Government’s broader digital economy goals and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision to build a $1 trillion national economy driven by private-sector growth and innovation. He also commended Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, for his focus on human capital, citing initiatives such as the recruitment of 6,500 teachers for the state’s Smart Green Schools initiative.

The NCC Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre will now serve as a regional hub where young tech talent, entrepreneurs, and local businesses can build solutions for domestic and international markets.

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The agreement was reached  during  a meeting in Abuja attended by NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida, NITDA Director General Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and NWDC Managing Director Prof. Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji.

The agencies agreed to pool infrastructure, financial resources, and technical capacity to execute a unified digital training program designed to equip thousands of young people with modern technology skills.

Under the operational agreement, the NCC will supply training facilities, while NITDA will provide the curriculum, technical expertise, and certification framework. The training will adopt a hybrid approach, blending classroom-based practical instruction with online modules to ensure hands-on competence.

The initiative aims to address youth unemployment, encourage regional entrepreneurship, and strengthen the North-West’s local talent pool. Agency heads emphasized that building human capital through digital literacy remains vital to integrating the region’s growing youth population into the modern digital economy.

The joint effort aligns with broader Federal Government objectives to deepen digital inclusion, train a technology-capable workforce, and position the North-West as a regional hub for technology and economic growth.

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This took place in Abuja during a  workshop which led to the establishes of a joint strategy to power critical telecom infrastructure using off-grid energy solutions.

According to both agencies the collaboration will  addresses a primary obstacle to national connectivity: unreliable power supply.

The initiative leverages renewable energy to maintain seamless network operation, expanding digital access and economic inclusion across remote regions to drive Nigeria’s digital economy.

Highlighting the interdependence of power and connectivity, NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida noted that electricity and digital networks share complementary goals. A community lacking stable power struggles to sustain network infrastructure, while one without connectivity cannot fully utilize available power. The new framework directly solves this by aligning energy generation directly with telecom deployment.

Under the agreement, both agencies will merge their geospatial data into a unified digital map to streamline growth. The REA will supply data on operational and planned renewable energy projects—such as solar mini-grids and home system clusters—while the NCC will map existing and upcoming telecom deployments to pinpoint priority development zones.

Engineer Abraham Oshadami, NCC’s Executive Commissioner for Technical Services, explained that rural base stations will now draw power directly from nearby solar mini-grids. This setup keeps telecom towers online without relying on the national grid, dramatically reducing operational downtime and lowering network operators’ heavy dependence on costly diesel generators.

Engr. Umar Umar, REA’s Executive Director of Technical Services, emphasized that the MoU ends years of the two agencies operating in isolation despite aligned goals. By comparing overlapping coverage maps, both organizations can now make data-driven decisions to quickly identify high-priority, viable sites where mini-grids and telecom towers can be co-located.

To ensure long-term execution, a dedicated NCC-REA Collaboration Committee has been created to oversee pilot projects and refine operational strategies. With ongoing input from industry stakeholders, the committee will establish a scalable blueprint to ensure renewable energy consistently powers Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.

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Speaking at a brief ceremony to sign the MoU at the NDLEA headquarters on Friday 17th July 2026, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) said the partnership may appear, on the surface, to bring together two unrelated mandates, but which, on closer examination, reflects a shared reality in the fight against organized crime in Nigeria.

According to him, “Our experience at the frontlines of drug law enforcement has shown us time and again that criminal networks rarely confine themselves to a single illicit enterprise.

The same syndicates that traffic in narcotics are often found dabbling in other forms of economic crime, including the piracy of intellectual works that rightfully belong to Nigeria’s creatives: our musicians, filmmakers, writers, and software developers. Proceeds from one illegal trade frequently find their way into financing the other. This is the criminal value chain we must disrupt together.

“Today’s MoU gives structure to that shared fight. Through it, our two agencies commit to exchanging intelligence, coordinating joint operations, building the capacity of our respective officers, and supporting one another with the technical resources needed to do this work well.

A Joint Working Committee will be established to drive this collaboration forward, meeting regularly to ensure that what we sign today translates into real results on the ground.“Let me be clear: this partnership is not just about law enforcement. It is about protecting the health and social wellbeing of our people, and about safeguarding the immense creative talent of this nation: a talent that deserves to thrive without the theft that piracy represents, and a society that deserves protection from the scourge of illicit drugs.”
He commended the NCC for recognizing the intersection between drug trafficking and piracy. “This is how effective government works; agencies finding the common threads in their missions and pulling together rather than in isolation”, Marwa added.
In his remarks, the Director General of NCC, Dr. John Asein noted that the alliance between NDLEA and NCC marks a significant milestone in the growing culture of inter-agency collaboration within the Nigerian public service, adding that the effort will enhance the common responsibility of protecting the Nigerian society from criminal enterprises that undermine national security, economic development and the rule of law.
In his words, “Copyright piracy is sometimes wrongly perceived as a minor commercial offence or a victimless activity. In reality, large-scale piracy is often a highly organised and profitable criminal enterprise. It deprives creators and investors of legitimate income, destroys jobs, discourages investment, reduces government revenue and weakens the foundations of Nigeria’s creative economy.
“International experience has demonstrated that organised copyright piracy is rarely an isolated criminal activity. Across several jurisdictions, the same criminal syndicates, logistics channels, financial networks and distribution systems used to traffic pirated goods have also been linked to other forms of transnational organised crime, including narcotics trafficking, money laundering, smuggling and cyber-enabled offences. This reality underscores the imperative for closer collaboration between agencies such as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Nigerian Copyright Commission.
“The same clandestine supply chains, transportation routes, storage facilities, financial channels and distribution networks used for trafficking in illicit drugs and other prohibited goods may also be deployed for the movement and sale of pirated books, films, music, software and other copyright products. Proceeds from piracy may equally be laundered or channelled into other criminal activities.
“This connection makes collaboration between the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency both necessary and timely. By combining our respective mandates, expertise and intelligence capabilities, we can more effectively identify criminal networks, trace illicit financial flows, disrupt illegal supply chains and dismantle the structures that sustain organised criminal enterprises.
“For the Nigerian Copyright Commission, this partnership offers an invaluable opportunity to leverage the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s world-class expertise in intelligence-led law enforcement. Over the years, the NDLEA has earned a well-deserved reputation, both nationally and internationally, for its professionalism, operational excellence and innovation in combating organised crime. Under the able leadership of the Chairman/Chief Executive, the Agency has demonstrated remarkable success in intelligence-driven operations, strategic investigations, forensic capabilities, surveillance, financial intelligence, international cooperation and effective inter-agency coordination.”

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Introduced during a recent assembly in Abuja centered on evaluating financial models for cooperative utility channels, this strategy aims to curb the expenses associated with high-speed internet deployment, foster joint resource usage, and speed up network expansion across the country.

The core objective of this centralized blueprint is to guarantee that protective network channels are embedded during the construction or renovation of transport links, allowing competing service providers to channel their data lines through pre-existing subterranean networks.

By utilizing this pre-installed underground infrastructure, telecommunications companies can efficiently expand their services while completely eliminating the need to repeatedly tear up public thoroughfares.

During the assembly, the Permanent Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nadungu Gagare, emphasized that this collective approach represents a vital intervention by the state to fortify digital foundations and upgrade web accessibility.

He remarked that this unified trenching strategy stands as a pivotal state measure designed to accelerate data network evolution, trim the financial burden of web amplification, prevent redundant street damage, and optimize national assets.

He further noted that the true value of the directive hinges on a tariff system that is transparent, commercially viable, impartial, and supportive of collective asset utilization, which will heighten financier trust while protecting public resources.

Providing historical context, Ayuba Shuaibu, the Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis at the regulatory body, mentioned that external specialists were brought on board in 2023 to rectify the lack of a standardized fee structure for cooperative conduits, an omission that previously hindered the strategy’s progress.

Concluding the presentations, Akpevwe Egbelughe, representing Dimension Data Nigeria, highlighted that recurrent earthworks stand as a premier barrier to widespread high-speed internet availability, explaining that integrating protective channels directly into transport engineering projects allows service providers to effortlessly slide their data cables through existing networks without disrupting public pathways.

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The assessment evaluated Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on key indicators, including FOI compliance, fiscal transparency, institutional reforms and website performance.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Engr. Abraham Oshadami, described the recognition as a validation of the Commission’s commitment to institutional reforms and improved public service delivery.

Oshadami said the recognition would encourage the Commission to sustain initiatives that promote transparency, accountability and operational efficiency while strengthening public confidence in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.

He added that the award also reflects the NCC’s commitment to delivering better services to telecom consumers through improved service quality, responsiveness and stronger consumer protection measures across the industry.

Over the past two years, the Commission has implemented several reforms, including the launch of the National Coverage Map, publication of Quarterly Network Performance Reports, simplified tariff communication for subscribers, strengthened corporate governance compliance and expanded access to industry data.

Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the participating MDAs, particularly the top-performing agencies, for advancing transparency, accountability and good governance through sustained reform efforts.
Arabi noted that the annual assessment, held as part of activities marking the United Nations Public Service Day, recognises institutions that have demonstrated excellence in implementing reforms and delivering quality public services.

In addition to the institutional awards, the Bureau honoured 20 outstanding public servants across the federal, state and local government levels for exemplary leadership, including the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs. Adejoke Adefulire.

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Speaking after the Digital Africa Summit Roundtable in Shanghai, China, Olorunnimbe said investors that begin factory construction before November would receive government backing, with the NCC helping to facilitate the necessary policy and regulatory support.

He said domestic smartphone production would reduce dependence on imported devices, create employment opportunities and strengthen Nigeria’s manufacturing sector while making smartphones more affordable.

According to him, producing devices locally would also reduce the impact of foreign exchange volatility on handset prices, improving access to smartphones for millions of Nigerians.

Olorunnimbe stressed that locally made phones must match international standards in quality and remain competitively priced to gain consumer confidence and compete with imported brands.

He added that stronger device regulation and expanded instalment payment options would protect consumers, improve smartphone ownership and support the country’s digital economy growth.

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The initiative was unveiled in Abuja by the Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, who said it is designed to provide mentorship, professional development and networking opportunities for female professionals.

Makama explained that the programme will create a structured platform where experienced women leaders can guide younger professionals and help them develop the skills needed for greater responsibilities.

She noted that women currently make up about 70 per cent of the commission’s directors, describing the strong representation as an opportunity to nurture the next generation of female leaders.

According to her, the programme is intended to become a permanent feature of the NCC’s human capacity development efforts and will continue beyond the tenure of the current leadership.

Makama added that the commission hopes to strengthen female participation in leadership by building a lasting community that supports career growth across the regulatory environment.

Speaking at the launch, NCC Executive Vice-Chairman, Dr Aminu Maida, said the initiative would inspire more women to pursue leadership roles and provide a platform for learning from accomplished professionals.

Maida expressed confidence in the potential of young women within the commission, saying the programme would help prepare them for senior leadership positions while contributing to the growth of the telecommunications sector.

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As part of the initiative, the Commission released a consultation document outlining a proposed framework for zero-rated educational services. The plan is designed to support wider access to online learning materials and improve educational opportunities for students and other learners across the country.

According to the NCC, the proposed framework seeks to establish guidelines and eligibility requirements for educational platforms that may qualify for data-free access. If implemented, users would be able to connect to approved learning resources without the usual cost of mobile or internet data.

The telecommunications regulator explained that the consultation paper marks the beginning of a broader engagement process with relevant stakeholders and reflects its commitment to transparent and inclusive policymaking.

To ensure that the framework addresses the needs of the sector, the Commission has invited contributions from telecom operators, educational institutions, technology providers, civil society groups, and members of the public.

The NCC encouraged interested parties to review the proposal and submit recommendations that could help shape a policy aimed at expanding digital education and increasing access to learning resources nationwide.

The initiative is expected to contribute to efforts to bridge educational gaps, enhance digital inclusion, and make online learning more accessible to millions of Nigerians.

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The new measure, which takes immediate effect, was announced in a joint statement signed by the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, and the CAC’s Head of Public Affairs, Rasheed Mahe, on June 21, 2026.

Under the arrangement, licensed telecommunications companies intending to alter shareholding interests representing 10 per cent or more of their issued share capital must first obtain a Letter of No Objection from the NCC. The CAC will only process and register such transactions upon presentation of the commission’s approval.

According to the two agencies, the requirement is anchored on provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, the Competition Practices Regulations 2007, and the Licensing Regulations 2019, which empower the NCC to oversee transactions involving licensees and safeguard competition within the communications sector.

The regulators explained that the initiative is designed to strengthen monitoring of significant corporate restructuring activities and prevent actions that could undermine market competition.

The statement noted that the CAC would henceforth require documentary evidence of the NCC’s consent before effecting any qualifying alteration in the ownership composition of telecommunications firms.

The agencies further stated that the enhanced oversight mechanism is expected to improve transparency, deepen investor confidence, provide greater regulatory certainty, and support the long-term stability of Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

They added that the collaboration between both institutions underscores their commitment to promoting sound corporate practices, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, and fostering a conducive environment for sustainable sector growth.

The NCC and CAC reaffirmed their resolve to continue working together to maintain a transparent, predictable, and investment-friendly business climate while supporting the orderly development of the country’s communications ecosystem.

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