First published as First News in the January edition of African Leadership Scorecard Magazine

By Bonaventure Phillips Melah

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was created through a military Decree in 1992 which was later replaced with the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003. The Commission has over the years, successfully carried out its statutory responsibilities which includes regulating telecommunications services and facilities, promoting competition, and setting performance standards in the industry.

However, NCC has become a household name as well as agency of Greater Public Interest (GPI) in the last two years, due largely to the various revolutionary reform policies and innovations introduced by the current management under the leadership of Dr. Aminu Maida, an alumni of the prestigious Imperial College London and Systems Engineer with a PhD from the University of Bath, where he majored in Electrical and Electronics.

Dr. Maida was appointed CEO of NCC by President Bola Tinubu, GCFR and assumed duties following his confirmation by the Senate on November 16, 2023.

Among the various achievements of NCC within the period under review are improvement in quality service delivery to consumers through effective regulatory mechanisms that put service providers under scrutiny as well as strict application of sanctions when necessary.

In the past one year alone, consumers have witnessed over 30 percent improvement of Download Speed with drastically reduced drop calls. The Commission has also introduced many new regulations to protect consumer rights.

Under some new rules made by the management, non-compliance attracts significant penalties as telecom companies that fail to meet the set quality standards face fines of N5m per reporting area, with an additional N500,000 fine for each day the violation persists. In addition, other breaches, such as submitting false information, obstructing investigations and others could result in fines of up to N15m per incident. The above is just a few of the many testimonies of how the NCC is standing up for Nigerians and others living in the country, to protect them from exploitation and against mediocre service delivery by investors.

In a recent interview on the Network Service of NTA which was monitored by our reporters, Dr. Maida said one of the innovations introduced by his management include the launch of ‘Quality of Experience’ portal which he said has significantly improved services nationwide. The platform allows service consumers to monitor network performance in real-time and include a cybersecurity framework and a Corporate Governance Code, aimed to enhance transparency, accountability, and consumer protection within the sector.

According to him, transparency especially, is necessary to attract investor confidence which he said is responsible for the huge volume of new investments in the sector which stood at $1 billion for 2025.

Dr. Maida said that as the CEO of a regulatory agency, his main task is to create a balance between consumer satisfaction through quality service delivery and providing friendly and conducive environment for investors so they can make profit and grow their businesses.

He said it was for the purpose of eliminating performance bottlenecks and unnecessary excuses by service providers that the Commission introduced model dashboard or map, that enables easy disclosure of operator performance.

With the innovations, he said consumers can clearly see which networks are delivering better quality service and therefore make well-informed decision on subscription and migration, adding that a satisfied customer base means more usage, increased revenue for operators, and a stronger economy for Nigeria.

He also said the dashboard makes it easier for consumers to monitor and know the actual cause of service disruptions like drop-calls including network issues, device problem, external interferences, Volp limitations, outdated software and vandalism, as these are easily identifiable by customers.

On vandalism of cables and other facilities, Dr. Mada thanked President Tinubu for signing an Executive Order that criminalized vandalism of telecommunication infrastructures, saying, it has led to significant reduction in such unpatriotic incidences that was a major factor for fiber outages and drop-calls.

He said also that the Cybercrime Act has strengthened the legal protections for telecom infrastructure by designating it as important national infrastructure.

As part of efforts to further improve quality service delivery in favour of the over 140 million internet users as well as further close the digital divide in Nigeria, NCC in, collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and other key institutional stakeholders, convened a high-level workshop in June last year.

The event which focused on improving rural connectivity across underserved and unserved communities took place in June 2025 and explored policy and regulatory frameworks to support the growth of community networks—localised, inclusive communication infrastructure tailored to meet the specific needs of remote populations. The initiative was also aimed at accelerating socio-economic development in hard-to-reach areas of the country.

Also last year November, NCC hosted a digital economy awareness and sensitization programme themed- “Leaving No One Behind: Digital Assets, Equity, and Empowerment,” brought together industry experts, policymakers, and community stakeholders who brainstormed practical solutions for bridging the digital divide.”

The event was meant to facilitate a conducive environment to build Infrastructure for Innovation and Inclusion and to lay a solid foundation for bridging gaps between policy and infrastructure for national development.

In 2025, NCC under Dr. Maida made a complete return to truly market-driven pricing on tariffs which was mostly responsible for the over N1 trillion in investments within a 10-month period as well as inspired operators to deploy more than 2,800 new and upgraded sites in 2025 alone, leading to remarkable improvements in network coverage and service quality nationwide.

On welfare of workers, the management has priotised Staff training and provided opportunities to all staffers to equip themselves with modern knowledge and skills to drive a tech-driven sector like NCC. The above is in addition to ensuring that staff are promoted as at when due while their entitlements are paid on time.

In appreciation of the various reforms and innovations introduced by Dr. Aminu Maida-led management, NCC received standing ovation in December 2025 when the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) ranked the Commission among the top government agencies on efficiency and transparency.

Vice President Kashim Shettima handed an award to NCC for that glorious feat, even as the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), as well honoured NCC for having the third-best government website in the country in terms of compliance with federal standards.