NCC sets up 18-member inter-agency committee on R & D

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has inaugurated an 18-member inter-agency committee to actualize and deepen the impact of Research and Development on the telecommunications sector.

The mandate of the committee is primarily to evaluate research submissions to aid the growth of the sector beyond where it is now, a statement from NCC said yesterday.

The committee whose membership is drawn from different professions including the academia is chaired by Prof. Muazu Mohammed Bashir of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta who inaugurated the committee at the headquarters of NCC in Abuja told the committee that the aim is to find local solutions to the challenges of the industry and this is in tandem with the policy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration for Nigerians to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the country.

Prof. Danbatta stated that in order to achieve this goal, the Commission decided to deliberately utilize the capacity found in the academia and to redirect it towards getting involved in research activities that can impact on businesses and society which will consequently bring about the development of new products and services for the industry.

The EVC listed some recent developments in the Commission to include the creation of Research and Development Department to consolidate all research activities thereby giving research activities a priority attention.

Records of the Research and Development Department of NCC showed that 96 submissions were recorded this year as against 56 of the previous year.

The research topics ranging from issues of pipeline protection to herdsmen tracking and so on manifestly justify the efforts of the Commission in making investment into Research activities by the academia.

In her welcome address, the Head of Research and Development, Mrs. Iyabo Sholanke said that the EVC, coming from the academia decided to review the configuration of the Commission in order to fully execute the 8-point agenda to achieve the strategic plan of the Commission.