Reps committee mulls merger of NCC, NITDA

 The House of Representatives Committee investigating duplication of functions of Ministries, Departments and Agencies on Wednesday, discussed the possibility of merging the Nigeria Communications Commission and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The committee raised the possibility when the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Umar Danbatta appeared before the Committee.

A member of the Committee, Ibrahim Isiaka, raised the operational possibility of such a merger.

“I draw an organogram, all these agencies will be under the NCC,” Mr Isiaka said about the information technology-related agencies.

Mr Danbatta stated that the functions of the agencies differ, however, the final decision is within the purview of the lawmakers.

“NITDA regulates information technology, that is why they are called that name. Galaxy backbone provides infrastructure that is promoting governance and key services sector of our economy. They provide fibre networks to various institutions. That is why FEC is having a virtual meeting. The NCC also subscribes to them for network service. I see them as doing important work.

“In some countries, we have what are called converged regulators for the telecoms and related sectors. In this country, we have two separate regulators. One for communication and the other for broadcasting. It must have been the wisdom of the government to separate them,” he said.

He added that it is not in his place to suggest convergence.

The Chairman of the Committee, Victor Danzaria, said the committee will interface with other agencies to reach a conclusion on the matter.