FG made N403bn from telecoms sector in 10 years ' Ndukwe

The former Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, has said the Federal Government made $2.6bn (N403bn) from the telecommunication sector between year 2000 and 2011.Ndukwe stated this at the Ninth convocation lecture of the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, on Saturday.According to him, the British colonial government left behind 18,724 telephone lines in Nigeria, which translates to a teledensity (number of telephone lines in use for every 100 people living within a particular area) of about 0.44 per cent as at 1960.The telecommunication sector, as vital as it is to human development and advancement, was not getting the necessary priority it deserved from successive governments since independence till the year 2000, he said.Ndukwe said the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo supported the sector, which gave birth to the telecommunications revolution that started in year 2000.He went on to explain that the award of Global System of Mobile communication and Code Division Multiple Access licences was done in a transparent in manner, which attracted investors into the sector.Ndukwe said, Between 1996 and 1999, about 23 digital mobile licences had been issued to various companies to provide mobile services.$285m was paid by the GSM operators before licences were issued to them. The NCC facilitated the phenomenal expansion of telephone lines in Nigeria and, indeed, 2001 marked the year when the Nigerian market opened to competition.The poor services being rendered by GSM operators informed the commissions decision to set up the Telecom Consumer Parliament. Since 2003, the operating companies have not been able to provide stable services to their consumers.According to him, poor services have persisted despite the huge investments in the sector.The sector has recorded a huge subscriber base, made possible by the injection of N18bn in both local and foreign investments, he said.Ndukwe said that the telecoms sector had significantly contributed to the nations Gross Domestic Product, pointing out that its contribution to the GDP rose from 2.0 per cent in 1999 to about 8.5 per cent in 2011.
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