The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Danbatta has revealed that all regulatory positions taken by the Commission are powered by the global vision of a satisfied consumer.
In his presentation at the World Consumer Rights Day Webinar held in Abuja, he averred that the Commission’s vision interconnects with the international consumer rights movement.
He recalled that “The Commission declared 2017 as Year of the Telecom Consumer, in recognition of the central place the consumer occupies in the telecom ecosystem and in the emergent digital economy. In the same year, the World Consumer Rights Day focused on “Better Digital World”. The declaration by the Commission and the focus by WCRD 2017 emphasised the need to build ‘a digital world consumers can trust’.
“The theme for World Consumer Rights Day for 2021 is, “Tackling Plastic Pollution”. Activities and actions slated for this commemoration are to raise awareness and engage state and non-state actors on the global plastic pollution crisis. This is coming THREE years after the NCC drafted the NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRYE-WASTE REGULATIONS in 2018.
“The objective of the Regulation is to manage E-Waste; promote reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery; improve environmental management system of operators in the telecom industry; and reduce greenhouse emissions as well as enhance sustainable development efforts.
He further established a correlation between the vision and activities of NCC and the global consumer rights movement, permit me to recall some of the steps taken by the Commission that have direct bearing to the theme of this year’s World Consumer Rights Day.
Continuing, he stressed that “In reconnecting with the theme for this Year’s celebration, it bears restating, that, while the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is concluding processes to issue the regulation on Electronic Waste, it is mindful of the fact that many ICT and telecom devices have plastic components, whose waste materials could worsen plastic pollution. In other words, we reckon that improper disposal of such disused ICT-plastic embedded products have grave implication on public health, and especially in achieving Goals 11, 12 and 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. These goals speak to the imperative of adhering to practices that enhance Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production; as well as Climate Action respectively.”
