… remits N51.3b to Fed Govt purse in Q1 2019
The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, made Nigeria richer by N51.3 billion in the first three months of 2019, January to March. The country’s telecom regulator remitted the amount into the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the first quarter of 2019.
NCC is one of Nigeria’s revenue regenerating agencies that pay monies into government coffers quarterly rather than sitting and drawing subventions from the government for their operations.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta explained that the payment was in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.
According to a statement issued by the Commission in Abuja and signed by the Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, the money represents “Payment on Account” in respect of “operating surplus of N44 billion and N7.3 billion spectrum assignment fee collected, both of which are due to the Federal Government as at April 30, 2019.”
By the provisions of the FRA 2007, such payments are to be made every year after preparation of Audited Accounts of federal government corporations.
Specifically, Section 22, Sub-section 1 of the Act states that, “Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law governing the Corporation, each Corporation shall establish a general reserve fund and shall allocate thereto at the end of each financial year, one-fifth of its operating surplus for the year.”
Section 22, Sub-section 2 of the Act further states that, “The balance of the operating surplus shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government not later than one month following the statutory deadline for publishing each Corporation’s Account.”
Aside from remitting the operating surplus, Section 17, Sub-section 3 of the Nigerian Communication Act (NCA, 2003), which governments the operations of the NCC, also stipulates that spectrum assignment fees generated shall be remitted 100 per cent to the Federal Government.
The Section states that, “the Commission shall pay all monies accruing from the sales of Spectrum under Part 1 of Chapter VIII into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).”
Prof. Danbatta explained that the Commission had taken the initiative to be making payments on Account as it generates revenue, noting that through effective regulatory oversight by the Commission, the telecommunications sector continues to experience impressive progress since 2001, making it an enabler of economic growth and development.
“To date, the telecoms industry has positively impacted all sectors of the economy including banking, healthcare, commerce, transportation, agriculture, education and so on, with increased quarter-on-quarter contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” Prof. Danbatta added.
For instance, latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the telecoms industry contributed 10.11 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP in the first quarter of 2019.
This represents a 0.92 per cent increase from the first quarter of last year. This year’s first quarter contribution is also 0.26 per cent more than the figure (9.85 per cent) recorded in the last quarter of 2018.
“From 2001 till date, telecoms investment has increased tremendously from $500 million to over $70 billion, just as the Commission intensifies measures aimed to further facilitate investment growth in telecoms infrastructure to drive the economy, especially through the licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos).
“We are also working with necessary stakeholders across all levels of government to address identified impediments to investment drive in the sector,” Danbatta stated.
The statement further quoted Danbatta as saying: “While providing latest data on the industry to underscore the impressive growth already recorded in the industry, the NCC CEO said “in the 21st Century, access to pervasive broadband is a game changer for any economy. “The Commission has places greater emphasis on broadband development as the next frontier for economic growth by driving efficiency and innovations in Nigeria. Consequently, through painstaking implementation of our 8-Point Agenda with the need to facilitate broadband development topping the agenda, we increased broadband penetration to 33.13 per cent as at end of May, 2019,” he added.