Consistent with its recognition as an ethically-compliant public institution by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with other government agencies to participate in and support the Federal Government’s anti-corruption campaign.
This was stated by the commission’s director, human capital and administration, Mr. Usman Malah, who represented its executive vice chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, while hosting a delegation from the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) that paid a courtesy visit to commend NCC for its role in enabling the nation to embrace digital culture.
According to Malah, the NCC earned a score of 81.15 per cent in 2020, putting it in the top 10 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government among 352 MDAs assessed on ethics compliance and integrity scorecard (ECIS) by the ICPC. “With this performance,” Malah said “the commission also emerged the most ethically compliant government regulatory agency for the year 2020 under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.”
According to Malah, it was natural for NCC to support efforts geared towards tackling corruption in the country. Therefore, he said NCC was willing to collaborate with the PCC to boost the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government to curb corruption and negative tendencies among Nigeria’s youths.
The commission acknowledged PCC’s enlightenment programme on anti-corruption targeted at the Nigerian public, the youths and students who, he said, can be great stakeholders for the sustainability of the anti-corruption campaign, and support for telecom sector initiatives to boost the national economy.
“Also, NCC strongly associates with the central objective of PCC, which is to redress all forms of administrative injustice in Nigeria and the noble goal of promoting social justice, especially in a world that is increasingly complex and sophisticated for the average individual, given the rapid advancements in technology and diversity of practices.”
Earlier, the PCC secretary, Philip Enyali who represented the chief commissioner (Ombudsman of the Federal Republic), Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf, commended Danbatta for maintaining zero tolerance for corruption and the noble achievements of the commission under his leadership. These strides, he emphasised, have seen the telecommunications sector contribute immensely to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth of the nation.
Enyali stated that the PCC’s purpose of visiting the NCC was to intimate the telecom regulator on the scheduled anti-corruption marathon slated for the Eagle Square Abuja, as well as the National Youth and Students Summit scheduled for December 2022.
“We are here to request the support and partnership of the NCC in hosting the two events targeted at curbing anti-corruption tendencies among the Nigerian youth, as well as creating the opportunity to discourage young people from indulging in corrupt practices,” Ayo-Yusuf said.
