On Wednesday, the Senate’s Communications Committee approved the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) budget of N549.6 billion for 2024.
This was made known during a combined Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Communications session chaired by Senator Ikra Bilbis (Zamfara Central).
The committee members overwhelmingly approved the NCC’s N549.6 billion 2024 budget proposal via voice vote, following a motion by Senator Tahir Monguno (Borno North) and subsequent ratification by committee chairman Senator Ikra Aliyu.
The committee reviewed the performance of the NCC’s 2023 budget, as provided by the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Maida.
The 2023 budget performance report revealed an actual revenue of N448.1 billion against a planned budget of N559.080 billion, with total recurrent expenditure of N67.072 billion and capital expenditure of N3.6 million.
Maida answered questions from parliamentarians on a variety of themes, including security, revenue creation, data protection, and errors in the NCC’s 2023 budget report.
The EVC reminded MPs that the NCC intends to avoid relying primarily on operator sanctions for revenue collection and is taking steps to help operators comply with regulatory mandates.
He stressed that the NCC works with national security agencies to develop a platform for tracking criminals and addressing security concerns.
Senator Steve Karimi praised the NCC’s timely and commendable report, adding that there were no contradictions in the material supplied.
Senator Ned Nwoko also noted Maida’s strong credentials and asked him to improve the Agency’s functioning.
Lawmakers also applauded the agency for its judicious management of 2023 revenue, capital, and recurring expenditures.