The Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) proposed N549.6 billion budget for 2024 has received approval from the Senate’s Communications Committee.
Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s EVC/CEO, was present when the Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Communications held a joint meeting under the direction of Senator Ikra Bilbis (Zamfara Central) to discuss the NCC’s 2023 budget performance.
Legislators questioned Dr. Maida about a range of subjects, including data protection, revenue generating, security, and inconsistencies in the NCC’s 2023 budget estimate.
The 2023 budget performance report revealed an actual revenue of N448.1 billion against a projected budget of N559.080 billion, with total recurrent expenditure at N67.072 billion and capital expenditure at N3.6 million.
Sen. Steve Karimi expressed his appreciation for the NCC’s excellent and current report, noting that all of the information was accurate.
Senator Ned Nwoko encouraged Dr. Maida to improve the Agency’s operations while praising his remarkable credentials.
The Government Owned Enterprise was commended by lawmakers for its cautious management of capital, recurrent, and revenue expenditures in 2023.
Legislators were notified by Dr. Maida that the NCC is taking steps to make it easier for operators to comply with regulatory requirements, with the goal of not depending entirely on operator sanctions to generate income.
He underlined that in order to develop a platform for locating criminals and resolving security issues, NCC is working with national security authorities.
The committee members unanimously approved the NCC’s N549.6 billion budget proposal for 2024 through voice votes, following a motion by Senator Tahir Monguno (Borno North) and subsequent ratification by committee chairman Senator Ikra Aliyu
