Nigeria Re-elected into ITU Council Membership

Nigeria early in the week was re-elected into the Council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency that oversees global telecommunication operations. The election was the highpoint of the Plenipotentiary Conference currently holding in Dubai United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The 20th Plenipotentiary Conference of the Council, also reelected the ITU SecretaryGeneral, Houlin Zhao, for another term of four years.

Nigeria and the countries elected to the Council will begin another four-year term from January 2019.

The 153-year old ITU, is an agency of the United Nations (UN), set up to coordinate telecommunication operations and services throughout the world.

Originally founded in 1865, as the International Telegraph Union, the ITU is the oldest existing international organisation and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Nigeria became a member of ITU on November 4, 1961. USA joined on July 1, 1908; United Kingdom, February 24, 1871, and UAE on June 27, 1972.

The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference, which is the supreme organ of the Union, which elects its senior officials, the 48 members of its Council and its 12 members of the Radio Regulations Board.

It also determines the direction of the Union and its activities over the following four years.

The ITU Council body of the union holds Plenipotentiary Conferences, which take place every four years.

It ensures oversight of the Union’s activities, policies and strategies, manages Working Groups on specific topics set up by Plenipotentiary Conferences or by the Council itself, and prepares the draft ITU strategic and financial plans for presentation to the Plenipotentiary.

The seats were divided into five regions, which include Region A, with the Americas having nine seats. The countries are Argentina; Bahamas; Brazil; Canada; Cuba; El Salvador; Mexico; Paraguay; United States.

Western Europe with eight seats including France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Italy; Spain; Switzerland and Turkey. They are in Region B.