NCC: More lawyers should specialise in telecoms

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced a sensitisation programme for lawyers.

The commission said the country needs more lawyers with specialisation in telecoms laws and regulations, to sustain the industry’s growth.

Yetunde Akinloye, director, legal and regulatory services, NCC, made the call during the “Meet the Regulator Forum” organised by the commission for lawyers and law school students at the Nigerian Law School (NLS), Abuja campus, on Monday.

The sensitisation programme is scheduled to hold in all geopolitical zones “to create more awareness about the legal environment of telecommunication regulations”.

According to Akinloye, the Nigerian telecoms industry is principally governed by the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, which empowers the commission, as an independent telecoms regulatory authority, to, among others, regulate stakeholders in the sector and implement government’s policy on communications.

Akinloye said the commission has been using the act to protect and promote consumer interests and grant licences to operators.

She added that the exercise of the commission’s powers as enshrined in the act has helped it to bring about digital transformation in the country with impressive contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and to trigger positive multipliers effects on all other sectors of the economy.

“We have recognised the role of lawyers in telecoms regulations and laws. This is why we have put in place this forum to create a meeting point between NCC as a regulator and legal practitioners. We are here to sensitise you to NCC’s activities from legal perspective, knowing full well that you have a role to play in further development of the sector,” Akinloye said.

“More legal practitioners are needed in the country with specialisation in telecoms-related laws in our quest to continue to boost our regulatory frameworks for the continued growth of the telecommunications sector.”