By Chinenye Anuforo and Adanna Nnamani, (Abuja)
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has exceeded its N36 billion projected revenue from spectrum licence fees for 2021.
According to a statement at the weekend by Director, Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, the commission recorded over N150 billion from this revenue source within the five months of the year. He said the figure represents over 400 per cent increase in revenue budget performance in respect of spectrum fees generated by the Commission between January 1 and May 31, 2021, reflecting significant contribution to the revenue drive of the Federal Government. “The N150 billion spectrum revenue achieved in the first half of the year has been remitted to the Federal Government in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, which mandates the Commission to remit proceeds from spectrum resources wholly into the government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
“The Commission, in its 2021 Budget which was considered and approved by both chambers of the National Assembly in December, 2020, projected a revenue of N36 billion from spectrum fee for the year 2021 but has remarkably surpassed this estimate,” he said.
The spokesperson further disclosed that the NCC had over the years, put in place an effective regulatory regime which has significantly facilitated advancements in the nation’s telecoms industry, boosted Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and improved the operations of licensees as well as boosted Federal Government’s revenue generation.
Commenting on the revenue performance, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said that the impressive uptick in spectrum fee was the result of the favourable turn of events for the telecom sector, which at the time of preparing the estimates for the 2021 budget of the Commission was not clear due to the ravaging impact of COVID-19 on the global economy.