An agency of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD), has sought the support and collaboration of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) towards ensuring state-of-the-art development befitting of the nation’s capital’s satellite towns.
The STDD’s coordinator, Obinna Ogwuegbu, made the call when he led an 11-man delegation on a courtesy call on the commission in Abuja.
Ogwuegbu stated that the main objective of the visit was to intimate NCC management on the strides being made by the development agency on its mandate and to seek NCC’s buy-in towards ensuring the availability of telecoms infrastructure in the satellite towns.
“The STDD is a government establishment operating under the Federal Capital Territory Administration, with a mandate to develop the satellite towns of the Federal Capital Territory by providing engineering infrastructure, such as district infrastructure, rural/link roads, water and electricity supply, environmental sanitation and town planning to the satellite towns,” he said.
He said the NCC, as the telecoms regulator, which is intimately connected to facilitating digital connectivity infrastructure, will be requested to support STDD, facilitating the development and rollout of telecoms/engineering infrastructure across the satellite towns through its licensees and other initiatives.
In his response, the executive vice-chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, expressed the commission’s commitment to ensuring synergy in its working relationship with other agencies of government.
Represented by the commission’s director, human capital and administration, Usman Malah, Danbatta acknowledged the importance of STDD mandates and it was conscious of the role NCC is supposed to play in ensuring ubiquitous access to telecoms services whether in the cities, unserved and underserved areas, under which the satellite towns may be categorised.
A statement by the NCC’s director, public affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said while thanking the delegation for the visit, he assured that their requests and propositions shall be presented to management for consideration and necessary action.
