The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has addressed a misleading online publication that stated it had incurred a deficit of N17 billion in the 2021 budget, spending N35.2 billion on personnel and consultancy fees.
According to the NCC, the publication failed to accurately interpret its 2021 Annual Reports, leading to a false impression of the commission’s financial performance.
The NCC clarified that the N17.3 billion reflected in its Statement of Financial Performance for the period ended December 2021 was a “Surplus/(Deficit) retained for the period” and did not imply a cash deficit. The commission’s financials included both cash and accruals, some of which were applicable to the following year’s procurement, such as the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI), which stood at about N24 billion.
Furthermore, the commission remitted an operating surplus/spectrum fee of an estimated N197.7 billion to the Federal Government within the same Financial Performance Reporting period and had a bank balance of about N46.97 billion. These figures erase any doubt that there was any deficit spending, it said.
In a statement by its director of public affairs, Reuben Muoka, the NCC emphasised its commitment to effective and transparent processes in all its regulatory, management, and financial activities. The commission urged the public and stakeholders to disregard the misleading headline and subsequent misinterpretation of its financial report.
