The Nigerian Communications Commission is to establish an emergency communication centre in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The Executive Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, gave the assurance at a Media Chat with stakeholders in the Media industry held at Bristol Palace Hotel on Saturday in Kano.
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Danbatta said establishing the centres was necessary so as to bridge the gap between distressed and emergency response agencies in the country.
The NCC boss said the commission under his leadership, had increased the amount of research grants being given to universities from N20 million to N30 million pointing out that three universities have so far benefited from the new grant.
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“NCC as a regulator is mindful of the fact that telecom is an enabler and catalyst for economic advancement of the country and has consistently made available, affordable and accessible telecom service to check certain telecom barriers,” he said.
Prof. Danbatta said the commission as a regulatory agency in the development of the telecommunication sector, is to ensure best practices in view of the fact that NCC is one of the sectors that had contributed to the enhanced growth of Nigerian economy.
He said the major challenges confronting the commission include wilful destruction of its facilities and the number of taxes imposed on telecommunication companies.
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“The challenges being faced by the commission include 41 categories of taxes imposed on telecommunications companies and wilful destruction of our facilities,” he said.
He said that the commission would continue to engage stakeholders in the media industry in order to keep members of the public abreast of the activities of the commission.
