Lagos State Affirms Support to NCC to Advance Economic Growth
By Naija Enquirer Staff
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as part of efforts to accelerate economic growth and deepen investments in technology and communication infrastructure.
Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance on Thursday during a courtesy visit by the Governing Board of the NCC, led by its Chairman, Chief Idris Olorunnimbe, at the Lagos House, Marina.
The governor described the NCC as one of Nigeria’s most forward-looking regulatory agencies, commending President Bola Tinubu for appointing men and women of integrity and competence to steer the commission.
He said the communications sector remains a critical driver of Nigeria’s economic transformation, stressing that Lagos would continue to serve as a model and testing ground for digital development across the country.
“We will be expecting so much from this sector. It is a very strong service industry that we believe will be one of the very deep growth paths that can also help us deepen the GDP of our country,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“This is a national assignment and we want to ensure that Lagos can be used as a very strong demonstration and a test point to push development as evenly as possible to every nook and cranny of this country. We believe there has to be fairness and purposeful governance all around.”
The governor pledged sustained support for NCC initiatives, noting that Lagos remains open to investments that enhance technology, communication and other strategic sectors.
“We will continue to support NCC. I can assure you that we will do more than what is expected. We are not a government that would be averse to investment. Technology, communication and the rest of it are the next growth paths that we want to be part of. We can use technology as a strong enabler to do a lot of catch-up,” he added.
Earlier, NCC Board Chairman, Chief Idris Olorunnimbe, described Governor Sanwo-Olu as a mentor, recalling that his first public service board appointment came through the governor during his tenure on the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.
Olorunnimbe said Lagos was the first state the new NCC governing board chose to visit after inauguration, describing the state as critical to the commission’s operations.
He said the NCC was keen to address connectivity gaps across Lagos, particularly in underserved and unserved communities, where commercial operators often hesitate to invest due to limited profitability.
“There are parts of Lagos that are unserved and underserved. Some of these places are not very commercially viable for operators because every time they put infrastructure, the consideration is, ‘How will it generate its money back?’” he said.
He urged the Lagos State Government to consider granting free right-of-way in such areas as an incentive to attract telecom operators, noting that the initiative could serve as a pilot for other states.
“We would like Lagos to blaze the trail by granting free right-of-way in some of those areas so that we can use it as an incentive to get operators into those communities. We will work with the Commissioner and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) to design and implement this as a pilot,” Olorunnimbe added.
