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Tag: LCCI

  • FG should take tough stance on oil thieves, pipeline vandals – LCCI

    FG should take tough stance on oil thieves, pipeline vandals – LCCI

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry  (LCCI) has lamented the continuous decline in oil revenue in the country due to oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

    LCCI appeals to the government to address the problems of oil theft and pipeline vandalism with a drastic measure and sterner approach.

    It stated that if oil theft and pipeline vandalism are tackled, Nigeria will earn more from foreign exchange and increase revenue.

    LCCI also urged the government to borrow from cheaper sources to reduce the burden of debt servicing, and take a decisive step toward removing fuel subsidies.

    In a statement signed and released  by its Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, titled, “The Nigerian Economy at 62: The Need for Big Decisions,” on Saturday, it said the oil sector had consistently recorded negative growth for the ninth consecutive quarter, contracting again by -11.8 percent year-on-year in Q2 2022, following a higher contraction of -26 percent year-on-year in Q1.

    “If oil revenue makes up more than 80 percent of government revenue, we expect the government to tackle the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism with a sterner approach,” it said.

    The LCCI explained that the non-oil sector grew by 4.8 percent year-on-year in Q2 ‘22 against 6.1 percent year-on-year in Q1 ‘22. It said the growth of 1.2 percent recorded for agriculture and the three percent for manufacturing were comparatively low when compared with other sectors that grew at above five percent.

    “And with the excruciating burden from debt service, subsidy payments, and worsening insecurity, many more production activities may be constrained in the coming months. The Federal Government needs to sustain its targeted interventions in selected critical sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, export infrastructure, tackling insecurity, and free up more money from subsidy payments.

    “We urge the government to tackle oil theft to earn more foreign exchange, borrow from cheaper sources to reduce the burden of debt servicing, and take a decisive step toward removing fuel subsidies,” the statement read in part.

    The organization also describes poor power supply and insecurity as other major challenges confronting businesses in the country, it, therefore, urged the country’s government to decentralize the national grid

    It said, “Poor power supply remains a major burden on businesses. It is one area in which the trend since independence has been that of progressive decline. This development impacted negatively on investment over the past few years with increased expenditure on diesel and petrol by enterprises. With the frequent collapses recorded by the national grid, we can no longer rely on a centralized power source. The way to go is renewable energy and decentralizing the national grid.

    It warned that without effective and sustained protection and support for the real sector, and a dramatic improvement in infrastructure, the outlook for the sector would remain gloomy, particularly for the small-scale industries struggling in the face of cheap imports into the country and high production and operating cost in the domestic economy.

    It added, “The security situation in the country deteriorated in the last year, assuming a very worrisome dimension. Access to markets in the troubled parts of the country has been reduced for many enterprises, with negative consequences for investors’ confidence.

    “Our nation is at a cross-road and in dire need of big decisions to drive the drastic transformation the economy requires to return to economic prosperity. Our nation, Nigeria, has come a long way and is too big to fail.”

  • How Atiku, PDP engineered mass poverty on Nigerians – BMO

    How Atiku, PDP engineered mass poverty on Nigerians – BMO

    Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar played a major role in pushing millions of Nigerians into the unemployment market and into poverty as Vice President between 1999 and 2007.

    This, according to the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), is contrary to the impression Atiku sold in his presentation at the recent Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Presidential Economic Agenda Forum.

    BMO said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, that the former Vice President and his party were largely responsible for the mess the All Progressives Congress APC-led administration had been cleaning in the last seven years.

    “It was meant to be an economic forum for the Peoples Democratic Party’s flag bearer to give the Organized Private Sector (OPS) an insight into what he has to offer, but he preferred to use it as an opportunity to again demonize President Buhari and his administration.

    “So, not surprising, Atiku went ahead to limit all the problems in the country to the tenure of the incumbent government which he claimed was responsible for massive and regrettable level of unemployment.

    “But what he deliberately left out is the fact that Nigeria’s unemployment figure in the PDP era was 112million out of a population of 160m, inspite of a higher oil revenue for a sustainable period with no global pandemic or a war with grave  worldwide economic implication.

    “It is public knowledge the former Vice President laid the groundwork for that high number of unemployed people as the man who presided over the much abused privatisation programme that led to massive job cuts with no fall back plans for those pushed into the labour market.

    “We find it funny that same man is pledging funding for small businesses when the administration he served and the party were more interested in protecting the interest of the political elite for 16 years rather than providing a social safety net for the poor and vulnerable.

    “The PDP candidate also made it look like Nigeria began running a budget deficit under Buhari, when publicly available information showed that it started in 2011 when the country actually had an oil boom but with little effort at economic diversification.

    “It was also a period that the country’s infrastructure deficit began to rise menacingly with successive PDP administrations doing little or nothing to bridge the gap that Atiku is now pledging to commit 20billion dollars to, with private sector support,” the group said.

    BMO added that it was interesting to see the former Vice President promising things that the Buhari administration has already put in place in a different way.

    “The APC-led Buhari administration has already put in place several Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives in infrastructure on the back of Executive Order 7 which a number of key private sector players have already embraced to reconstruct some roads in exchange for tax credit across the six geo-political zones.

    “This is aside from the National Council on Infrastructure that has already been set up to encourage private sector involvement in infrastructure development and the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) which is already up and running.

    “So what the perennial presidential candidate is doing amounts to seeking to ‘giraffing’ or spying; nothing more, in proposing OPS involvement in infrastructure development.

    “But what we, like many Nigerians, find laughable is Atiku’s plan to propose a legislation to remove electricity from the exclusive list even when it has been in the news for at least three months, that President Buhari and the National Assembly have began a process of decentralizing the power sector.

    “So we agree with those who say that  the former Vice President had stayed too long in Dubai that he has lost track of what is happening in the country.”

    The group said that the former Vice-President simply showed in his LCCI presentation that he has nothing to offer Nigeria and Nigerians.

  • CBN tasked on supply-side instruments to tackle inflation

    CBN tasked on supply-side instruments to tackle inflation

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has stressed the need for a corresponding boost to supply-side factors of inflation to accompany the monetary policy instruments by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tackle inflation.

    Dr Chinyere Almona, the Director-General, LCCI, on Wednesday, in Lagos, gave the advice in reaction to the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The MPC had at its recent meeting raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 13 to 14 per cent in response to the surging inflation rate of 18.60 per cent of June.

    The CBN retained the asymmetric corridor of the MPR at +100 / -700 basis point, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 27.5 per cent and liquidity ratio at 30 per cent.

    Almona said that monetary policy instrument such as rate hike alone would not yield the desired result of lowering inflation.

    She said that supply side factors like foreign exchange scarcity, insecurity, rising costs of fuels and weak infrastructural support for production must be addressed.

    Almona, however, posited that CBN rate hike was seen to be a necessary option considering that many other economies were raising rates for the same reason of taming inflation.

    According to her, a comparatively low interest rate could make the country’s portfolio assets less attractive to asset buyers and offshore investors.

    This, she said, could make the economy suffer from massive capital flight with a negative effect on the exchange rate.

    “We note the gloomy outlook of the global economy which has a direct link to our domestic economy with pass through effects of imports.

    “The persistent war in Ukraine and other disruptive factors may present as risks into the end of the year.

    “Tightening of rates may have been a good decision by the MPC as that was necessary to tame the rising inflation rates in the past months,” she said.

    Almona urged the CBN to maintain its targeted intervention schemes for agriculture, manufacturing/industries, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, exports, and Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSME).

    She stressed that development finance loans should be targeted at the MSMEs.

    “Beyond the goal of stabilising prices, there are other key goals besides this; full employment, economic growth, and balance of payment equilibrium are equally important.

    “While it is expedient to curb inflation rates, we equally risk a contracted economy that may go toward  a recession.

    “This calls for the need to embark on targeted financing for critical sectors of the economy to help boost the supply-side,” she said.

  • FG moves to tackle crude oil theft

    FG moves to tackle crude oil theft

    The Federal Government through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it has developed key initiatives aimed at reducing to the barest minimum activities of crude oil theft and illegal artisanal refining.

    Engr Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer, NUPRC, made this known at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Public Private – Dialogue on Crude Oil Theft and Artisanal Modular Refineries on Thursday in Lagos.

    Komolafe said that an unprecedented level of theft estimated at a daily average of 103,000 barrels which was recorded in 2021 had grown to 120,000 barrels in first quarter of 2022.

    He added that daily average production in 2021stood at 1.5 million barrels while the national production advised by the commission was 2.2 million barrels.

    “Consequently, only 58 per cent of the technical rate was achieved in 2021 and similar performance has continued in 2022 hence the need for more concerted efforts across all quarters to stem the tide.

    “Unfortunately, the amount of oil received at the terminals indicates that over nine million barrels of oil is lost to crude oil theft amounting to a loss of one billion dollars in first quarter of 2022,” he said.

    Komolafe said that the effect from this level of theft had resulted in the declaration of force majeure, shortage of wealth, a hostile, unsafe environment and was a disincentive to investors in the Nigerian upstream sector.

    He added that many operators had deliberately shut down facilities and pipelines which had further aggravated the low oil production also impacting gas production both for domestic utilisation and exports.

    He said that in view of the development and the ongoing government’s efforts to enable the industry deliver production target of three million barrels daily in three years, the commission has developed some key initiatives.

    Komofale said that the initiatives were aimed at mitigating oil theft and creating enabling regulatory environment for local refining in Nigeria.

    He said they include: a roadmap for tackling the insecurity challenges in the industry, identifying and implementing areas of collaboration between government and operators in ensuring that operators realise their full production potentials.

    Others, he said were massive collaboration with the top civil echelon of the Nigerian security forces for a robust security for both operators and host communities.

    “The commission is also promoting the implementation of modern security technology for real time loss detection that would enable swift and more proactive responses.

    “We also advocate a refinery regulation in terms of establishment of more modular refineries to curb activities of artesians from refining crude which is outside the ambit of the law and absolutely below acceptable minimum standards of technology in the 21st century,” he said.

    Dr Michael Olawale-Cole, President, LCCI, expressed concerns over Nigeria’s battle in recent years with dwindling revenue, security challenges, weak infrastructure, rising inflation, high cost of production, and a burdening and unsustainable fuel subsidy.

    Olawale-Cole said that crude oil theft had taken a worrisome dimension spiking production costs to $32 a barrel with losses from pipeline vandalisation and theft overwhelming the International Oil Companies (IOCs).

    He added that the development had led to several indigenous oil firms contending with rising operational expenses driven mostly by personnel, maintenance, and security costs.

    Olawale-Cole said that there were also concerns about the culpability of the nation’s security agencies, noting that barges of oil could not be stolen and moved on the coastal waters without the collaboration of some powerful stakeholders.

    “The menace of oil theft has become a national disaster and a critical threat to our revenue base as Nigeria is losing crude oil at the level of about 91 per cent of output.

    “Nigeria lost $3.2 billion to crude oil theft between January 2021 and February 2022, as revealed by the NUPRC, the LCCI Oil Producers Trade Section, and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG).

    “This menace has prevented Nigeria from meeting its crude oil output capacity,” he said.

    The LCCI President reiterated the chamber’s position in favour of the removal of fuel subsidies and full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector to attract required investments into the sector.

    He said that the twin factor of fuel subsidy payments and crude oil theft have combined to deny Nigeria the gains of the high crude oil price on the international market.

    “No investor wants to invest in an industry where they cannot even recover their cost of production.

    “While we expect some respite from the commencement of commercial private sector refining and modular refineries, we call on the regulators to ensure a conducive business environment that supports these investments coming on stream soon,” he said.

  • Lagos govt to unveil 30-year devt. plan – Sanwo-Olu

    Lagos govt to unveil 30-year devt. plan – Sanwo-Olu

    Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu says the government will soon unveil a 30-year development plan, toward accelerating sustainable economic growth.

    Sanwo-Olu made this known during the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) private sector interractive meeting with the Governor on Tuesday in Lagos.

    He said that the 30-year plan was in pursuit of physical development, social growth and economic prosperity.

    According to him, the Lagos State Development Plan 2052 will be officially unveiled at the forthcoming ninth Economic Summit of the state, popularly known as Ehingbeti.

    He said that the 30-year plan was developed with clear objectives from four strategic dimensions, aimed at positioning the state to achieve its vision.

    Sanwo-Olu said that each of the four dimensions of the development plan would be achieved through over 400 policy initiatives that would be implemented throughout the period.

    ”The Lagos State Development Plan 2052 has been developed with a set of clear objectives across four strategic dimensions, which are to position Lagos on the track to achieving its vision.

    ”The dimensions to this plan are to keep a thriving economy that will make Lagos a robust, healthy and growing economy with adequate jobs and strategic investments to sustain growth.

    ”We are building a human-centric city in which every Lagosian will have access to affordable and world-class education, healthcare and social services.

    ”There will be deliberate effort to keep modernising our infrastructure, by providing reliable and sufficient infrastructure that meet the needs of a 21st century city.

    ”The plan will also bring about sustenance of effective governance. Lagos will have a supportive and enabling environment that creates opportunities for all Lagosians.

    ”This is a huge task that must be achieved between now and the nearest possible future,” he said.

    The governor said that the plan would not be realised when the private sector – the drivers of the state’s economy – is not carried along in the implementation of the identified policy phases.

    He thanked the business community for supporting the state government in dealing with arising issues in the challenging period of COVID-19 pandemic pushback.

    According to him, more social burden could have trailed the pandemic have the private sector not considered the government’s entreaty that prevent mass retrenchment of workers.

    Sanwo-Olu the state government would continue to improve on the ease of doing business in Lagos.

    He said that in the last one year, Lagos had recorded massive influx of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the tune of $750 million in the technology sector.

    The governor said that the state had attracted global tech brands such as Equinox, Google, and Microsoft, among others.

    He expressed hope that the meeting with the Organised Private Sector would lead to creation of new pathways, that would facilitate a more robust relationship with the sector.

    LCCI President, Dr Michael Olawale-Cole, said that the meeting with Sanwo-Olu indicated the Chamber’s continued faith his administration for a better business environment.

    Olawale-Cole said that Lagos had continued to be the investment haven for FDIs coming to the country, as the state alone accounted for 71 per cent of the $1,573 billion foreign investment Nigeria recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

    He said that policy direction was critical for a thriving and supportive business environment in any economy, as the quality of the policy was a key consideration for local and foreign investment decisions.

    According to him, with an improved business environment, Lagos can attract more capital inflows from Nigerians in the Diaspora, as a more sustainable funding for the provision of required infrastructure.

    He said that enormity of needs in Lagos required the cooperation of both the public and private sector.

    The LCCI boss announced that Lagos would be the official chief host of the International Tech and Telecommunication (ICTEL) Expo coming up in August.

    The LCCI Deputy President, Mr Knut Ulvmoen, said that Sanwo-Olu took his most important decision to come out and meet with the investors.

    The Norwegian, who has lived in Lagos for 36 years, said that he had witnessed the city transformed before his eyes into a blossoming economy.

    ”The Lagos narrative is a story in progress. The city is now cleaner than it used to be. I implore the government to focus more on education and make it accessible to the teeming young people. This is what will sustain the city in the long term.

    ”Government leaders should demand more than donations from the international community; they must come and create jobs,” Ulvmoen said.

  • Celebrities react to planned re-opening of toll gates in Lekki

    Celebrities react to planned re-opening of toll gates in Lekki

    Many Nigerian celebrities residents in Lekki and its axis have given the Lagos state government knocks for trying to bring back toll fees at Lekki

    Managaing Director of Lekki Concession Limited (LCCI)Yomi Omomuwasan in a statement released has intimated that operations would begin by April 1st but motorists will start paying on the 15th of April,

    Recall that toll fees collection at Lekki-Ikoyi was stopped abruptly during the Endsars protest in Lagos in October,2020.

    Reacting to the developments via her twitter page, Nigerian actress Kate Henshaw described the planned re-opening as ”death toll”

    “The death toll is about to be opened for business.”

    Her colleague Stephanie Coker also took to her twitter page to lament the toll collection at a time power grid had collapsed, cost of fuel had increased.

    “I drove by Lekki Toll Gate and it states toll charges will resume on April fools day. Are we fools or are we being fooled?”

  • LCCI recommends phased fuel subsidy removal

    LCCI recommends phased fuel subsidy removal

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos has recommended a phased removal of petroleum subsidy to mitigate its effect on the masses.

    This was made known by Dr Chinyere Almona, Director-General, LCCI in response to plans of the Federal government to suspend fuel subsidy removal as a result of some barriers

    Almona said the phased subsidy removal should go with harmonizing investment in critical infrastructure aimed at supporting production in the economy.

    According to her, more production meant more job creation, poverty reduction and improved economic growth.

    The LCCI DG, however, noted that a monthly payment of about N250 billion to subsidise fuel consumption meant an additional N1.5 trillion expenditure in the 2022 budget.

    She stated that with additional expenditure against the projected revenue, deficit financing would be needed to support the budget expenditure.

    Almona noted that the development was likely to see the government borrowing more than projected to finance the bloated expenditure in the face of revenue mobilisation challenge.

    “The signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law by President Muhammadu Buhari was well-received by all major stakeholders and seen as a commendable act by the government.

    “The political will to sign the Bill into law was highly applauded because of the expectations of many on the full exploitation of the inherent potential of the oil and gas sector.

    “Less than a year into the signing of the Act, the implementation has suffered a flip-flop as some of the provisions of the Act are being suspended,” she said.

    Aloma said while the LCCI supported the full implementation of the PIA and total deregulation of the oil and gas sector, it was not insensitive to the plight of the masses that might feel the pains of fuel subsidy removal.

    “Since the announcement of the planned removal of fuel subsidies, there have been numerous reactions expressing displeasure and readiness to stage protests against the planned action.

    “The government on the other hand had expressed its concerns about the unsustainable subsidy payment which has become a strain on government revenue.

    “In the face of this dilemma, we recommend that the removal is phased.

    “The Federal Government must consider doing all that is possible not to truncate the implementation of the PIA 2021, which has already brought so much hope for industry watchers as a big game-changer for the oil and gas sector,” she said.

    The LCCI DG also stressed the need for stakeholders’ consultations on addressing the implications of lapsed provisions of the Act and forging the way ahead towards the full implementation of the Act.

     

  • Why Nigeria urgently needs PIB – LCCI

    Why Nigeria urgently needs PIB – LCCI

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the National Assembly to ensure the passage of a competitive Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that would make Nigeria an investment destination of choice.

    Mr Muda Yusuf, Director General, LCCI, made the call in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos.

    Yusuf said the LCCI was fully in support of government’s efforts to drive industry reform through a new PIB which was currently before the national assembly.

    ”The Lagos Chamber urges the national assembly to put in place a law that will promote a more effective and efficient governance, administration, host community development and fiscal framework for the petroleum industry.

    ”A competitive bill will help preserve the integrity of the existing projects, whilst also encouraging future growth of production, and make Nigeria an investment destination of choice,” he said.

    According to him, Nigeria, with the largest oil and gas reserves in Africa, has huge untapped potential to achieve its economic development goals, including gas-to-power ambitions.

    Yusuf noted that despite having the largest reserves in Africa, Nigeria only received four per cent (3 billion USD) of 75 billion USD, invested in the continent between 2015 and 2019.

    He said that this underscored the need to create a competitive environment to attract investment to the oil and gas sector.

    The DG said the key objectives of the PIB 2020, amongst many others, include reforming the institutional and fiscal framework and developing Nigeria’s gas sector.

    Yusuf said it was also aimed at creating a framework to support the development of host communities and foster sustainable prosperity, as well as bringing in new investments to grow the country’s production capacity.

    He said : ” However, some of these improvements appear insufficient to deliver the true value to Nigeria, which the bill aims to achieve.

    ”Some provisions in the bill could adversely affect the growth of the industry and the overall economy.

    ”We firmly believe that based on constructive co-operation between the Nigerian Government and other stakeholders, host communities and Industry, the objectives of reform can be successfully met,”.

    Yusuf noted that there were six key areas that the drafters of the PIB should look into, to ensure that it achieved its objectives.

    He listed them to include preservation of base business and rights, and granting new Deepwater oil projects a full royalty relief during the first five years of production.

    The LCCI chief also identified the removal of Hydro Carbon Tax, as companies would still be subjected to Companies Income Tax Act (CITA).

    Others, he said, were segregation of Upstream and Midstream deemed assets and harmonisation of tax practices, and ensuring capital allowance and allowable deductions which are consistent with existing tax legislations and CITA.

    Yusuf said the PIB should also include an exemption for existing export gas supply contracts and obligations, and simplifying the administrative burden of compliance, minimising ambiguity and the extent of overlapping regulation.

  • LCCI postpones Lagos International Trade Fair

    LCCI postpones Lagos International Trade Fair

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has announced the postponement of the 2020 edition of the Lagos International Trade Fair due to the economic disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent #EndSARS protests that rocked the nation.

    According to the chamber, the fair which will feature both physical (in-person) and virtual (online) platforms, was initially scheduled to hold from November 6 to November 15, 2020, at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, but will now hold from Friday, December 4 to Sunday, December 13, 2020.

    According to the Director-General of the LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, “The resolve to hold the 2020 edition of the fair is in line with the need for quick restoration of normalcy in the economic and commercial activities in Lagos State and our support for the ongoing “Protect Lagos” Campaign, which is geared towards rebuilding the Centre of Excellence.

    “In addition to the General Interest Fair, the annual international business expo will also feature Special days for corporate organisations to showcase their inventions, innovations, and sustainability initiatives simultaneously with the fair.

    “The focus, this year, is to facilitate trade and chart a way forward for the economy to exit the impending recession.”

    Mr Yusuf added “The exhibition will also facilitate networking amongst exhibitors and between exhibitors and visitors. The Fair is expected to attract huge traffic of visitors seeking to take advantage of the networking opportunities and discounted prices.

    “Corporate organisations including multinational corporations, indigenous conglomerates and financial institutions as well as corporate organisations from the West African sub-region have indicated interest to participate in the exhibition.”

    The LCCI DG also emphasised that relevant agencies and departments of the government will be available to exhibit and attend to other exhibitors and visitors. He stated that agencies that have confirmed attendance to provide information and educate exhibitors and visitors are Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Corporate Affairs Commission amongst others.

    Mr Yusuf then added that “so far, so good the excitement that the fair has generated has been phenomenal and we are indeed happy about our strategic partnership with our stakeholders.”

    The Lagos International Trade Fair is the largest international exhibition in West Africa. The Trade Fair is the premier International Trade Fair in Nigeria with the spectacular 10-day event usually starting on the first Friday of November, annually.

  • ICTEL Expo 2020: LCCI seeks NCC’s partnership, support

    ICTEL Expo 2020: LCCI seeks NCC’s partnership, support

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has sought the partnership and collaboration of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the successful hosting of this year’s edition of the Information Communication Technology and Telecommunications (ICTEL) Expo.

    The request was made by Leye Kupoluyi, LCCI Vice President, when he led a delegation of the Chamber to the Commission on a courtesy visit. The delegation led by Kupoluyi was received at the Communications and Digital Economy Complex Building, Mbora, Abuja at the weekend.

    Ismail Adedigba, Acting Head of Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) at NCC, received the LCCI team on behalf of Prof. Umar Danbatta, NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive.

    Speaking during the visit, Kupoluyi, who commended the Commission for its role in driving further growth of Information and Communications Technology (ICT); and for its unflinching commitment to providing universal access in the country, also lauded NCC for its consistency in supporting successful hosting of previous ICTEL Expos.

    Kupoluyi said LCCI’s objective for the visit was to deliberate with the Management of the Commission on its upcoming 6th edition of the ICTEL Expo holding later this year with the theme: “Exploring Opportunities in Digital Economy.”

    Kupoluyi stated that the theme of the expo is so directly connected to the activities of NCC as the regulatory authority for telecommunications in Nigeria. “Over the years, NCC has been supportive and remained a partner for progress to LCCI, and the successes so far recorded in the past five editions of ICTEL Expo would not have been possible without the support of NCC,” he said.

    Kupoluyi further underscored the desirability of having NCC as an event partner at the 2020 edition of the expo by emphasising that in today’s world, ICT/telecommunications has become an enabler for businesses, improved health care delivery, and e-agriculture among others.

    “Hence, the participation of the NCC will further underscore the significance of the theme of the event and enhance the dialogue on how we can jointly explore opportunities in digital economy to the benefits of our organisations, members of LCCI and the country in general,” he said.

    Responding, Adedigba reaffirmed NCC’s commitment to partnership and collaboration because strategic collaboration is the fifth item on the 8-Point Agenda of the Commission. He also said the Commission is always ready and willing to promote a win-win partnership and collaboration with relevant stakeholders towards advancing the frontiers of the ICT industry as an enabler to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.

    Adedigba, however, told the LCCI team that its request with respect to Commission’s participation and support for the upcoming 6th edition of the ICTEL Expo, would be conveyed to NCC Management for consideration.