Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) will go a long way to provide the telecommunications ecosystem with opportunities to participate in evaluating regulations which when drafted well, safeguard the public interest, stimulate innovations and facilitate investment in the Market.
Speaking at the presentation of the report of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Subsidiary Legislation 2024, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Commission, Aminu Maida, further explained that the RIA process provided major stakeholders with an opportunity to offer feedback, as well as recommend areas for review and improvement that will enhance legislations. These enhancements will ensure the effective application and implementation of these Subsidiary Legislations.
Maida, restated the Commission commitment to fostering a fair, transparent, and consumer-centric telecommunications landscape.
“Today’s discussions on the report of the RIA, its outcomes and recommendations are critical to refining our policies and ensuring that our regulatory approach aligns with the dynamic nature of the industry as well as shape regulatory practices for years to come.
“This engagement provides us an opportunity to look at the recalibration of the Commission’s strategic focus areas and determine whether the expectations of our major stakeholders are being met.” he added.
The CEO, notes that the Stakeholder Engagement Forum for the presentation of the Report of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) conducted on Eight (8) Subsidiary Legislations by the Commission in 2024, is an innovation to the Commission’s rule- making process and another avenue for participatory regulatory engagement of all stakeholders.
According to him, The process of this Regulatory Impact Assessment took into consideration the three Strategic Focus Areas of the Commission.
In the first peace he said the Commission places consumers at the centre of its regulation of the telecommunications industry as they are key to the issuance and implementation of our Subsidiary Legislations and therefore critical to the RIA process to review the impact of these legislations that border on consumer satisfaction and Quality of Experience (QoE).
Secondly, the RIA aims to evaluate the impact of Subsidiary Legislations on licensees and the market—these are the second strategic focus area of the Commission. This evaluation is important in determining the adaptability and agility of these legislations in reducing barriers to market entrance, entrenching fair competition in the market and facilitating effective and efficient utilisation of scarce resources.
The final strategic focus area that relates to the RIA is the Government—the overarching stakeholder and major driver of policies and national objectives. The RIA reviewed the impact and opportunities of these legislations on driving governmental objectives and meeting policy expectations.