Mr. Tony Ojobo, the immediate past Director of Public Affairs of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), has described growth in the telecommunication sector in Nigeria as enormous and progressive to the country’s economy.
Mr. Ojobo stated this at the Valedictory Session held in his honour by the NCC in Abuja, Nigeria to mark his retirement from service.
He noted that he was leaving the commission a fulfilled person having witnessed the growth and development in the sector.
“I was here from the beginning all through the licensing and the revolution. It happened right before me. Why I feel gratified is that from 0.04% teledensity when I joined this commission to about 162% teledensity phenomenal growth. Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area and it varies widely across the country. From 450 active lines as at 2001 to about 162 million active lines today, all happened while I was in the commission. “So for me, l leave the commission fulfilled from a time when I worked in NITEL when people will have to wait for 10 years to now when people in 20 minutes can activate a line and is working.”
On the issue of e-commerce Mr. Ojobo said that over the years, the country has witnessed a surge in the growth of e-commerce businesses that met a wide range of needs for the digital market.
He said “Seeing the e-Commerce space , seeing a situation where people do not need to queue in banks for transactions which can be done on phone and that is the revolution , thank God it happened right before my eyes.”
While speaking on the quality of service, He explained that “One of the things I did was that I never lied to the people, I discovered that people feel offended when they are having issues with the quality of service and you tell them that the quality of service is good, what I tried to do was to acknowledge that there is a challenge and that we are working to resolve it.”
Ojobo while expressing his gratitude to the media for assisting him in carrying out his duties effectively said they helped in showcasing the achievements of the commission to the world.
I want to thank my constituency the media for extending their hand of fellowship to me in carrying out my duties as the media has played a very critical role in every sector. He said.
He also commended the Executive Vice Chair of the Commission for his openness and leadership. “A CEO that understands the role of the media in shaping the narratives, his desire to build bridges that has helped the commission. The current economic realities requires technocrats to ensure that the industry remains stable”
Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, described Ojobo as a hardworking and reliable partner of the commission; a committed and loyal image maker who showcased the commission’s achievements to the world.
Prof Danbatta explained that Ojobo effectively managed the image of the commission by changing the negative narrative.
“He effectively managed the image of NCC to change the negative narrative. I found in you a very reliable partner.
“I wish you the best of luck and you a leaving behind a vacuum that will take time to fill and I promise that NCC will leverage on your achievements.” He said
Also, the Executive Commission Stakeholder Management NCC, Mr Sunday Dare, described Ojobo as a diligent person who had worked tirelessly for the commission.
Mr. Ojobo joined NCC in 2000 as a Deputy Director in the office of former Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission Dr Ernest Ndukwe where he superintended over the World Bank project and other institutional support the Commission had at the time preparatory to licensing of digital mobile operators in 2001.
He later became a Deputy director in the Administration Department, headed licensing and zonal operations, Acting Director support services and Director human capital and infrastructure group from 2010-2012 before he was redeployed to the Public Affairs Department as the Director Public Affairs in 2012. A position he held until his retirement from the commission on October 5th 2018.
