Address Multiple Regulations In Digital Space, ITU Advises Federal Gov’t

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has advised the Nigerian government to simplify the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) regulatory responsibilities in the digital space.

This is part of the recommendations stated in its report on Nigeria titled, ‘Collaborative Regulation: Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Transformation’.

The report asserted that among other things, the two agencies’ responsibilities for creating industry-specific ICT regulations, data protection, and content control overlap.

The report added that there is a need to clearly define the boundaries between the duties of NITDA and NCC in light of the growing convergence of telecommunications, IT, and ICTs in general.

Using the NITDA Bill to streamline roles The ITU stated that the NITDA Amendment Bill, which is currently before the National Assembly, should clarify the mandate and role, while acknowledging that there are some overlaps between the NCC, the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), and possibly other entities.

“The NITDA mandate in policy-making and regulation, i.e., whether it is a standards body, a regulatory authority, or a policy-making institution, is unclear, and stakeholders currently differ on what the role should be.

“While the Bill seeks to clarify the position of NITDA, it may inadvertently cause conflict between NITDA and other sector regulators including NCC given the NITDA broad mandate in relation to the ‘digital economy,’ and the lack of clarity in the distinction between the IT sector and the ICT sector.

“Should NCC and NITDA roles not be streamlined or clarified, it opens the possibility for forum shopping, and the duplication of roles, licences and fees levied by public agencies, and payable by ICT sector companies,” ITU added.