The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said data availability is critical to unlocking the opportunities embedded in the $1.2 trillion African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, EVC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta stated this at the fourth telecommunication sector sustainability forum, themed; ‘Mainstreaming Data Centres in the Nigerian Digital Economy’ held yesterday in Lagos.
“With the commencement of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the role and criticality of Data centres become increasingly overwhelming.
“This is underscored by the kind of efficiency derivable when critical resources are shared at costs far significantly smaller than the actual costs of setting up such resources from scratch,” he said.
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The EVC who was represented by the commission’s Head of Tariff Administration, Mr. Sunday Atu said the presence of data centers would avail the opportunities for businesses and public sector entities to benefit from latent treasure within the AfCFTA.
“It therefore provides a veritable platform for greater productivity and the attendant national competitiveness for businesses and public sector entities to effectively harness the opportunities to be unlocked from the estimated $1.2 Trillion latent treasure within the AfCFTA continental block through its 1.3 billion people,” he added.
