Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, EVC, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has stated that by next January, no Nigerian would carry phones that are not properly registered and the owner identified.
This is in the light of SIM card registration process initiated by the Commission at the request of security agencies in the country, which would commence soon.
Ndukwe, who disclosed this at the public hearing on SIM card registration in Abuja last week, requested the National Assembly to mandate the NCC to speed up the process as the Commission had already held wide industry consultations and consultative fora to look at all the issues involved in the process.
The NCC boss said the report of the industry wide committee, which made recommendations about the process of the registration, had already submitted its report to the NCC board upon which the board has approved the process.
He said the draft bill under consideration can become an amendment to the Communications Act, adding that the existing NCC law has substantial powers for it to implement the process with the support of the National Assembly. But majority of the members of the House Committee on Communications had insisted that the action of the Committee would still need the support of the House through proper legislation.
Ndukwe listed the lack of identity management system as a major huddle in the process but that arrangements have been reached with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to leverage and support the process of registration that would make it possible for the registration of SIM cards to be implemented even in the rural areas.
All the operators at the public hearing submitted to the Committee that they preferred the registration process to be implemented through the regulation of the NCC, rather than a new set of laws to be enacted by the National Assembly as the law making process may not be very sensitive to time and technical requirements of such a registration process.
The operators detailed the series of consultations that have gone on in the industry since the NCC hosted consultative forum, with the participation of security agencies and other relevant bodies such as the National NIMC and similar agencies.
Hon. Dave Salako, chairman of the House Committee on Communications, stated that it was only 3 days to the public hearing that the Committee was informed of the level of work already done by the NCC in this regard but said there is need for the parliament to play its role. “The regulator had taken this battle up. The Commission has started it but it does not make laws. The law makers will make the laws to support the process.”
Sponsor of the Bill, Hon. Akeem Arole Fancy, said non registration of SIM cards constitutes a threat to national security, adding that the NCC needs the mandate of the House; while commending the Commission and Engr. Ndukwe for the great job in contributing to the Nigerian economy through efficient regulation of the industry.
“To us, this is one of the best regulators in this country. The NCC can continue with its process of registration that it has started but we need to strengthen them by either an amendment to the existing law or a different law, as this process is cumbersome and may require the backing of the law,” he stated.
Hon. Jerry Manwe, former chairman of the House Committee on Communications, warned that the position of the NCC should be well understood because there are ways that the matter would be handled and it would scare the investors.