Pantami, telecoms execs to discuss Nigeria’s $2.6bn annual capital flights

With a vision to chart a way for the effective implementation of the policy which seeks to stem $2.6 billion annual capital flights in the telecoms industry by promoting alternative solutions that come with ease of doing business, Business Metrics, an online business and tech-focused newswire, has introduced Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), a new dialogue platform for industry stakeholders towards the drive for effective implementation of various policies in the country.

To lay a solid foundation for the dialogue, Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, is expected to give a keynote address at the forum, while Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),  Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general, Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and Dan Azumi Ibrahim, director-general, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, will be giving regulatory insights on the implementation of their policy.

Omobayo Azeez, chairman, organising committee, PIAFo-001, assures that participation of stakeholders across the concerned sector has been secured to chart a way for the effective implementation of the policy which seeks to stem $2.6 billion annual capital flights in the telecoms industry by promoting alternative solutions that come with ease of doing business.

Azeez said, “The general impression expressed by people on a daily basis that Nigeria is good at policy pronouncement but often fails in implementation is about to become a thing of the past. PIAFo is dedicated to stimulating implementation and tracking progress with measurable metrics.

“The policy execution failure that has been experienced over the years is ascribed to many factors such as poor awareness, shallow stakeholders’ engagements, lack of monitoring and poor periodic assessment to track progress. To change this narrative, PIAFo is equipped with strategic objectives to serve as a brainstorming platform for policy assimilation; to identify demands of government policies from individual stakeholders involved; to coordinate multi-stakeholder efforts towards achieving policy objectives; to ensure effective policy implementation and to assess implementation level of policies over time,” he concluded.

To achieve an all-encompassing treatment of the policy, a nexus of topics derived from the theme of the forum would be discussed by managing directors and chief executive officers of MTN Nigeria, Pan African Towers, Globacom Nigeria, VDT Communications, Airtel Nigeria, MainOne Cables, IHS Nigeria Limited and Broadbase Communications Ltd.

Similarly, the novel event is also expected to see the participation of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) and the Institute of Software Practitioners Organisation of Nigeria (iSPON), whose chiefs and members would be addressing the forum.