The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said it is to establish Emergency Communication Centres across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Abuja.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, made this known on Saturday in Kano at a Media Chat with stakeholders in the Media industry.
He noted that establishing the centres would bridge the gap between distress and emergency response agencies in the country.
Danbatta also said the commission had increased the amount of research grants being given to universities from N20m to N30m pointing out that three universities have so far benefited from the new grant.
He said, “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, however, said the major challenges confronting the commission include wilful destruction of its facilities and the number of taxes imposed on telecommunication companies.
“The challenges being faced by the commission include 41 categories of taxes imposed on telecommunications companies and wilful destruction of our facilities.”
