Contribution of telecommunication sector to GDP rise by 6 percent, says NCC chief Danbatta

Umar Garba Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), has said that the contribution of the Telecommunication sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 14.3 percent as of September this year amounting to N2.272 trillion.

Danbata said this when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunication led by its Chairman, Rep. Akeem Adeyemi visited the Commission on an oversight

Danbatta has also disclosed that Investments in the sector had risen from 38 billion dollars in 2015 to over 70 billion dollars now while the Commission had also paid over N344 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation within the period under review, an average of N70 billion annually.

He put the figure of active telecom subscribers in the country at about 205.25 million with a teledensity of 107 percent as of the end of September 2020.

He explained that even though Nigeria’s population stands at about 20 million, it was possible to have such a figure of active subscribers because while some people have one active line, others have two or three active lines.

According to him, "Way back in 2015 when we came into office, we articulated our strategic plans 2015 to 2020. So, this strategic plan is about to expire. This includes optimizing the use of spectrum, improving the quality of service, empowering, and protecting the consumer. These are some of the things on our agenda which this committee has identified with

"During this period under review, there is an increase in telecom contribution to GDP from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 14.3 percent now. In the second quarter of 2020, we recorded a 15.5 percent contribution to GDP."