The executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has hailed the media as an indispensable partner in information dissemination to stakeholders in the telecom industry and, thus, has earned the respect of the commission.
Danbatta made this assertion while hosting the management of Media Trust Group, led by its chief executive officer, Alhaji Mounir Gwarzo, at the NCC head office in Abuja yesterday (November 7, 2022).
Danbatta said the commission will continue to seek ways to expand its collaboration with the media as critical stakeholders.
The NCC boss expressed satisfaction at the rate media organisations are adopting digitisation and contributing through awareness and adoption of digital culture while assuring of the NCC’s effort to strengthen its existing cordial relations with the media and propagating the ‘instant society’ idea, where delivery of information is at great speed.
“We will expand the relationship with the media to leverage new and exciting opportunities. We count on every important interface that the media provides for the NCC. We wouldn’t have been able to do this job and succeed without the support of the media. We always use the media to provide information to the public because you have what it takes to reach out. We don’t have that reach. So, we appreciate the very important work that the media is doing.
“The media organisations are at the forefront of providing information about where to find the knowledge. When you read the media, you come across references to places where knowledge can be accessed and used for different purposes,” he said.
Danbatta assured the Daily Trust Group – owners of Daily Trust Newspapers, Trust TV and Aminiya, a multimedia digital platform – that the commission reckons with the credibility of the group and that their ingenious performance is seen in the ways the media entity has diversified service delivery.
He explained that the commission prioritises consumer engagement at the grassroots which, he said, has made it easy to initiate the delivery of outreach programmes in indigenous languages to bring information to the doorsteps of consumers.
Leader of the group’s delegation, Gwarzo, said the visit was prompted by the need to commend the commission on its sterling accomplishments and assured that Media Trust, through its publications, is ready to strengthen its relationship with the commission as part of its support for the digital economy agenda of the government.
Also, he applauded the NCC’s achievements, including the successful rollout of Fifth Generation (5G) services while explaining that the technology will bolster the speed required for simultaneous multi-location printing of the group’s newspapers across its operations in several parts of the country.
A statement by the NCC director of public affairs, Reuben Muoka said Gwarzo was accompanied by staff of the group, including group executive director, finance and corporate services, Nura Mamma Daura; Chief operating officer, Trust Television, Ibrahim Shehu Adamu; Head, business development, Naomi Adaghebalu Esezobor and the head, market research and intelligence, Benjamin Hon.
