The anniversary lecture, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday (19/11/2019), was supported by the NCC and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta was represented at the event by Dr. Henry Nkemadu, NCC's Director Public Affairs.
The thematic focus of the lecture was, “Beyond Politics: An Economic Narrative for West Africa”, and the sub-theme is titled, “The End of Oil: Whither the Nigeria Economy".
Dr. Mansur Muhtar, chairman of the occasion, who delivered a paper on the sub-theme, emphasised the need for Nigerian government to focus on driving robust ICT infrastructure, which, he said, is a baseline requirement for growing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and boosting overall economic development by any country in the current 21st century.
Muhtar’s call aptly underscores the NCC’s continuous drive to work with necessary stakeholders towards addressing the various challenges confronting ICT infrastructure deployment in the country, just as the Commission remains committed in its drive to deepen digital transformation of the Nigerian economy.
According to Muhtar, “We need to expand our infrastructures in ICT in Nigeria, which is a key enabler for economic development. We must come up with ambitious financial plan to support economic diversification and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) not only in the ICT but also in other sectors of the economy.”
Earlier, John Mahama, the guest lecturer and former President of Republic of Ghana, who spoke on the main theme of the event, stressed the need for African nations to address challenges hindering their socio-economic development.
He called for “drastic development of our infrastructures, training of the youths to acquire newest skills and promoting of vocational trainings in diverse areas of life so that the youths can stand on their own and contribute meaningfully to economic developments.”