Order on telecom assets awaits Buhari’s assent– Pantami

The draft document on the Executive Order protecting telecommunications infrastructure nationwide has been reviewed and is awaiting presidential assent, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, said.

Pantami disclosed this on Thursday at a virtual sectoral forum organised by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

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He said the government was working on a policy that would reinforce existing Executive Orders 003 and 005 to ensure that priority is given to indigenous manpower and expertise.

“In the ministry, we always try to strike a balance by protecting the interest of consumers and citizens on one hand and the telecoms companies on the other.”

To create an enabling environment for both investors and consumers, he said, the federal government has intervened by enacting policies to protect telecommunications infrastructure, review the cost of Right of Way (RoW) to the barest minimum and also put measures in place to eradicate illegal or multiple taxation.

The President of ATCON, Olusola Teniola, expressed optimism that the minister’s interventions, the challenges of Quality of Service, data price and broadband penetration will reduce considerably.

The virtual forum was aimed at finding a mutually beneficial common ground for every interest in the sector, according to ATCON.