NAN-H-117
By Constance Athekame
Policies
Abuja, Jan. 27, 2017 (NAN) Mr Adede Williams, the National President, Association of Telecommunications Professionals of Nigeria (ATPN) has called on the Federal Government to formulate appropriate policies that will drive the telecom sector.
Williams made this call on Wednesday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that government should put in place good policies that would drive the industry as this would give a lot of leverages to the sector.
According to him, some of the policies already in place will not allow the indigenous telecom companies to thrive.
“In 2016, even with the recession alarm, the telecom sector still contributed 9.8 per cent to the country’s GDP and a lot still needs to be done in 2017.
“The current government does lack policies as it has been formulating a lot of policies; and whether you like it or not, only the right policies will drive the economy.
“What we want in 2017 to make the telecom industry take its normal shape is to put policies put in place that will revive infrastructure for the industry to thrive.
“We are soliciting this time around that as they are formulating policies, they should formulate good ones that will drive the telecom industry to make sure Nigerians benefit in terms of call ratings,’’ he said.
Williams said that epileptic power supply had been the biggest challenge the sector had been facing.
“If government can provide stable power for the industry, it will enable the sector to grow faster.
“Frankly speaking in telecom industry, epileptic power is one of the things that the telecom industry is passing through.
“If government can provide stable power for the telecom industry, you will see that the industry will grow as fast as it can.
“The money invested in power by telecom operators can actually transmit into building other base stations, the more base stations are being built, the more the network is being expanded and more people will enjoy network availability,’’ he said.
Williams said that the association was aware that government was doing something to boost the industry by setting up the Ministry of Communications and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
He said that the ministry and NCC were doing well by bringing stakeholders together to find out exactly “what is happening in the industry and how to move it forward.’’
“They have organised a lot of stakeholders forum and other forums that brought in players in the ICT and telecom industry to look at how adequate infrastructure can be added to the sector.
The minister of communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu, had in 2016 said that local content would be major focus for his leadership to enable indigenous players participate in the sector.
He said that this would be done by galvanising appropriate policies tailored toward meeting the needs of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises by providing the enabling environment. (NAN)
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Edited by Grace Yussuf