NCC, FIRS inaugurate joint committee to boost revenue in telecoms sector

THE Nigerian C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Commission ( NCC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS) have taken their collaboration further, by setting up a joint committee of senior and management staff of the two agencies towards the implementation of interagency strategies for enhancing national revenues in the telecommunications sector.

The NCC’S Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Adeleke Adewolu, inaugurated the 17member committee on behalf of the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, and the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, at the NCC’S Board Room in Abuja.

The inauguration of the committee, according to a statement from NCC, yesterday, comprised six officials of NCC and 11 officials of FIRS, was carried out with senior officials of NCC and those of the tax agency, led by its Coordinating Director for Compliance Support Group, Dr. Dick Irri, who represented the FIRS Executive

Chairman, Muhammad Nami, at the event.

While inaugurating the committee on behalf of the heads of the two agencies, Adewolu stated that the terms of reference ( TOR) of the Committee include: review the Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) signed between the NCC and the FIRS on June 9, 2020; and carry out inter- agency interaction on the implementation of the NCC’S Revenue Assurance System ( RAS), to ensure that it incorporates the needs of FIRS to the extent that RAS can remain the sole interface with telecoms service providers’ networks vis- à- vis the tax authority’s information needs from the telecoms sector.

Given the committee’s composition and with the extensive experience and commitment of its members – which had informed their selection by the agencies – Adewolu stated that the managements of NCC and the FIRS expected no less than an excellent output from the Committee, tasking them to work together harmoniously and in the overall national interest.