Telecommunications  Regulator Reaffirms Commitment To High Leadership And Management Standards

…Puts Code of Corporate Governance In Active Mode

The total or near absence of good corporate governance practices in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria prompted the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), pursuant to its consultative regulatory stance, to come up with the Code of Corporate Governance For The Telecommunications Industry in 2014.  Three years down the road, has the code enthroned a culture of good corporate governance practice in the industry?

Investigations by GutsyPen4ICTD  revealed not a few analysts agree that ‘NO’ is the ideal answer to give under the circumstance.  So, in a bold strategic move to walk its talk on high corporate governance principles in the Nigerian telecommunications industry, and stave off descent of telcos into oblivion, the NCC has reaffirmed its commitment to seeing that the highest standards in leadership and management is maintained within the sector.

Now, the regulator is saying time has come for all stakeholders to take the code seriously.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Professor Umar Garba Dambatta says the NCC under his watch is committed to raising the standards of leadership and management in the telecom sector.

Professor  Danbatta, speaking at The Renaissance Hotel Lagos, venue of the Stakeholders Sensitization Workshop on the provisions of the Code, recently said the critical place of telecommunication to all spheres of the national life demands that "we raise the standards of leadership and management in the sector to sustain the sector's role as a driver of economic growth."

Professor Dambatta’s confidence in the renewed confidence of his agency to implement the code of corporate governance in the sector, was buoyed by the physical presence and participation of the Chairman of NCC Board of Commissioners, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye; the Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, Sunday Dare; other top management staff of NCC; representatives of Mobile Network Operators; and a broad spectrum of other telecom stakeholders.

The code, had earlier been presented to stakeholders in 2016 at an inclusive forum, as an instrument which provisions are mandatory, but the apparent lethargy to observe and entrench  the code, may have excited the commission  to once more put the code enforcement on active mode. By so doing, the NCC is communicating boldly to all sector players it will not tolerate observing the code in the breach, going forward.

Analysts believe by these provisions, the Code has become part of the extant regulatory instruments guiding telecommunications operation in Nigeria.

The code stipulates, among other things, that the Board of Directors is responsible for the governance of the company.  The Board should ensure that a culture of ethical behavior and right doing permeates the company.

To create room for functional specificity, eliminate  fraud and reduce poor governance principles to the barest minimum, the Code stipulates  the offices of Chairman and the CEO shall not be occupied by one person concurrently in any telecom company in Nigeria. In addition, no one can serve as a director in any telecom company for more than 15 years.

In the perspective of the NCC, good corporate governance ensures proper incentives for the Board and Management to pursue objectives that are in the interests of the company and its shareholders and also facilitates effective monitoring.-GutsyPen4ICTD.

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