ICT stakeholders are urging the Nigerian government to effect the proposed merger of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Lanre Ajayi, president of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said the merger is necessary considering the global convergence phenomenon.
“With the convergence of technologies globally, it becomes necessary to have a single regulator that will control broadcast and telecommunications, since technology has made it easy for people to do both communications and broadcasting, using the same device,” Ajayi told This Day.
Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman of the NCC, agreed his organisation and the NBC are interlinked.
“Both NCC and NBC have always been sister regulators and our roles will become more intertwined because of development in technology,” Juwah said.
“These days it is either you broadcast through the internet or through the other traditional channels that we were used to.”
Instead of arguing over turf, he advised stakeholders to follow due process.
He said: “It is not a question of fighting for turf, but to do things properly so that people can know that we are working well in Nigeria for the good of those who need our services.”
