Despite being one of the better-funded regulatory agencies in the country, The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) faces internal challenges that impact staff morale and effectiveness.
These challenges, range from delayed promotions due to leadership changes or unclear human resources policy implementation to increasing skills gap, especially in emerging areas like AI regulation, blockchain, and cloud security — key areas for future regulation that are still poorly understood by many within the Commission.
To address these issues, the NCC may need to prioritise staff development and training, improve communication and transparency around HR policies, and invest in building expertise in emerging areas. By doing so, the Commission can enhance its effectiveness and better regulate the rapidly evolving communications industry.
Against this backdrop, the current CEO/EVC of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida is well-positioned to tackle some of these internal morale challenges confronting the commission. With his expertise and leadership skills, he is already helping to boost staff morale, improve communication, and foster a more positive work environment, which ultimately is benefiting the Nigerian communications industry as a whole.
Investigation revealed that while training programmes do exist within the Commission, they are often poorly targeted or limited to top-level officials, leaving middle and junior-level staff without the technical exposure required to engage effectively with fast-evolving technology trends.
Dr. Maida is primed to tackle these inadequacies. As the new room deployed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since October 2023 to sweep the NCC clean, his effort has been met with stiff resistance by entrenched interest who have compromised recruitment processes, leading to an over-bloated staff population, ostensibly where they are not needed.
The friction between top management and key departments within the Commission is tending towards calamity and needs to be arrested urgently. The position of the EVC, which is directly filled and supervised by the president, attracts many individual and corporate interests.
Sitting atop a structure that connects a number of internal directorates including Licensing, Technical Standards, Consumer Affairs, and Compliance Monitoring, which are often run by career professionals, the EVC is the spokesperson of the agency.
As the board of the NCC is yet to be constituted, disagreement with directors who were already serving in their positions before Maida’s arrival is rife. Some of these directors have situated themselves to play a spoiler role by canvass opposing opinions because they feel entitled to the position of the EVC.
This divergence in strategic direction frequently leads to an erosion of internal cohesion, delayed decision-making, and even quiet resistance to reforms. For instance, major policy shifts, such as the introduction of new spectrum auction frameworks or licensing guidelines, are sometimes slowed down by bureaucratic resistance, inter-departmental rivalry, or reluctance to share credit among key players.
A more collaborative and transparent internal governance model, driven by regular departmental audits and inter-unit integration, will reduce sabotage and internal resistance. Investment in high-quality technical training and partnerships with global ICT regulatory bodies will prepare the Commission to regulate cutting-edge technologies with confidence.
Among the plethora of challenges being tackled by Maida on assumption of office is continuous effort to restore institutional integrity to the NCC. To address these challenges, a multi-level reform effort is needed.
The NCC’s enabling act should be reviewed to strengthen its operational independence and protect its leadership from undue political interference. While Maida may be lucky to work with a president who trusts his judgement, it may not be the same for his successors.
Beyond tinkering with the laws establishing the NCC, and improve the regulatory landscape, the Federal Government needs to clear Delimitation of Roles Across Agencies. To achieve this, it must harmonize the roles of NCC, NITDA, NBC, and other ICT-related bodies under a unified digital policy framework to end overlapping mandates.
Checks revealed that political interference also plays out when agencies attempt to sanction powerful interests or companies linked to political figures. The subsequent backlash can lead to the redeployment of agency heads, the reversal of regulatory decisions, or the curtailment of an agency’s budget and influence.
To ensure the NCC operates effectively, faulty recruitment disposition that makes the NCC a dumping ground for persons who are only attracted by filthy lucre must stop. Appointments into the Commission should prioritize industry experience and technical competence, moving away from purely political considerations.
