The Senate’s Communications Committee approved the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) budget of N549.6 billion for 2024 on Wednesday.
The approval was announced during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Communications, led by Senator Ikra Bilbis from Zamfara Central.
The committee members unanimously agreed to the NCC’s 2024 budget proposal through voice votes after a motion by Senator Tahir Monguno from Borno North, which was then confirmed by committee chairman Senator Ikra Aliyu.
The committee reviewed the performance of NCC’s 2023 budget as presented by Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission.
The report on the 2023 budget performance revealed actual revenue of N448.1 billion compared to a projected budget of N559.080 billion, with total recurrent expenditure at N67.072 billion and capital expenditure at N3.6 billion.
Maida answered questions from lawmakers on various topics, including security, revenue generation, data protection, and discrepancies in the 2023 budget report of the NCC.
The EVC told lawmakers that the NCC is working to not only rely on operator fines for revenue but also implementing measures to help operators follow regulatory rules.
He stressed that the NCC works with national security agencies to track criminals and address security issues.
Senator Steve Karimi praised the NCC’s detailed and commendable report, saying there were no discrepancies in the information provided.
Senator Ned Nwoko also mentioned Maida’s impressive qualifications and encouraged him to improve the Agency’s operations.
Lawmakers also commended the agency for managing the 2023 revenue, capital, and recurrent expenses wisely.
