The Senate’s Communications Committee, on Wednesday, approved the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, budget of N549.6 billion for 2024.
This was made known during a joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Communications session chaired by Senator Ikra Bilbis (Zamfara Central).
The committee members unanimously approved the NCC’s N549.6 billion 2024 budget proposal through voice votes following a motion by Senator Tahir Monguno (Borno North) and subsequent ratification by committee chairman Senator Ikra Aliyu.
The committee scrutinized the performance of NCC’s 2023 budget as presented by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Aminu Maida.
The 2023 budget performance report showed 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 billion.
Maida addressed inquiries from lawmakers on various topics such as security, revenue generation, data protection, and discrepancies found in the 2023 budget report of the NCC.
The EVC informed lawmakers that the NCC aims to avoid relying solely on operator sanctions for revenue generation and is implementing measures to facilitate operators’ compliance with regulatory directives.
He emphasized that NCC collaborates with national security agencies to create a platform for tracking criminals and addressing security challenges.
Senator Steve Karimi, in his remark, commended the NCC’s up-to-date and commendable report, stating that there were no discrepancies in the information provided.
Senator Ned Nwoko also highlighted Maida’s impressive credentials and urged him to enhance the operations of the Agency.
Lawmakers also praised the agency for prudent management of the 2023 revenue, capital, and recurrent expenditure.