100% of SIM cards used in Nigeria locally produced—NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says 100 per cent of the SIM cards used in the country are manufactured locally. Babagana Digima, the head of new media and information security at NCC, said this at a training for media executives in Lagos. The two-day training had the title: “Upskilling Media Stakeholders on Trends in Telecommunications.” Mr Digima attributed the feat to the commission’s commitment to encouraging local content and indigenous participation in the industry through the Nigeria Office for Development in Indigenous Telecommunications Sector (NORDIT). “Previously, in the last two years, almost 99 per cent  to 100 per cent of SIM cards in Nigeria were imported. And when NORDIT came, we made it one of our key low-hanging fruits that in five months to six months, manufacture of SIM cards will be indigenous.

“We directed all the mobile network operators (MNOs) to source their SIM cards locally, and in fact, as of now, 100 per cent of all the SIM cards used in Nigeria are manufactured locally, no importation,” Mr Digima said. Mr Digima, the former head of NORDIT, noted that the commission, through NORDIT, engages in advocacy work to encourage indigenous participation of companies and people in all telecoms. He said NORDIT had also provided grants and incentives to some companies to ensure the development of the industry. Also speaking, the executive vice-chairman of NCC, Aminu Maida, said the initiative to upskill senior media executives was borne out of the need to bridge the gap between the commission and how it was understood by its publics. Mr Maida, represented by Abraham Oshadami, the executive commissioner of technical services at NCC, said the commission needed to develop a mechanism that would enable the consumers and stakeholders to understand how things work in the industry.

“These have led to the birth of this beautiful initiative. If our industry must succeed, there must be proper enlightenment and education. So, your physical role cannot be overemphasised, and that is why these are carefully selected executives from across all platforms, including print, broadcast, and online media. It is to enable you to understand the commission and to see the operational interventions that the commission has engaged in over time, as well as the challenges we are having. This will enable us to work together to shape the landscape and also to help consumers understand what is really happening,” he said. He added that the training aimed to develop a reliable database of core partners within the geography of media systems and to cultivate a strategic relationship with media stakeholders.  (NAN)