Nigerian government pledges support for WATRA
GOVERNMENT
By BiztechAfrica – Nov. 8, 2011, 11:04 a.m.
By Lukas Ajanaku, Lagos, Nigeria
The federal Government of Nigeria has pledged unflinching support to the West African Telecom Regulators Assembly (WATRA).
The commitment to keep supporting the sub-regional telecoms regulatory assembly was given by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The regulator said it would continue to support the continued existence and sustenance of the WATRA to enable it fulfill all the objectives of a unified telecom regulation in the region for faster growth and cost effective intercontinental telecoms traffic.
Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, made this assertion when the council of the organization, led by the President of the National Council on Regulation of the Republic of Niger, Almoustapha Boubacar, who is the chairman of WATRA, paid him a visit in his office in Abuja.
WATRA is an umbrella body of telecommunications regulators in the West African sub-region.
Dr. Juwah, who was represented at the reception for WATRA by the Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, said the commission fully realised the importance of WATRA, hence the pioneering role of the NCC and its leadership in the formation and sustenance of this important sub-regional body.
He said that in this era of regional and sub-regional integration, WATRA had a crucial role to play in the liberalisation of services across the sub-region.
He also said the Commission would assist WATRA, which is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, in its quest to erect a befitting headquarters building to enable its management perform optimally for the effective functioning of the body and its operations with the other regulatory bodies in the sub-region.
WATRA’s current Executive Secretary, Nigeria’s Nnamdi Nwokike, said NCC is very dependable ally of WATRA, hence, the decision of the council to pay a special visit to the leadership of the Commission and to solicit its continued support in all its activities.
Speaking about the headquarter building of WATRA, Mr. Boubacar said that its one of the reasons for visiting the Commission and therefore sought the support and cooperation for the execution of the agreement for the headquarters building of WATRA so that the Nigerian government will give official recognition to the existence of its secretariat as a multilateral international institution.
