The Senate on Thursday confirmed the nomination of Dr Aminu Maida for appointment as the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) by President Bola Tinubu.
This followed the adoption and approval of the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Communications chaired by Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis (PDP – Zamfara Central) at plenary.
Bilbis in his report said that Maidia met all the lawful and academic criteria to be appointed as NCC’s boss.
Maina had prior to his nomination for appointment by President Tinubu as the new Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, served as the Executive Director, Technology and Operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).
According to the committee, Maida is a seasoned technical professional with over 15 years’ multi-functional and international experience in FinTech and Telecoms and Enterprise Technology.
He holds a Masters in Information Systems Engineering from Imperial College London and a PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath, UK.
During his screening on Wednesday, members of the committee like Senators Jimoh Ibrahim, Abdulazeez Yar’Adua, Abdul Ningi and Adamu Aliero vouched for the competence of Maida for the job and commended President Tinubu for making the right choice.
Specifically Senator Ibrahim (APC – Ondo South) said: “Going by very impressive curriculum vitae of the appointee submitted to us, his pedigree, expertise and functional knowledge acquired up to the Cambridge University in London, there can’t be any other better choice for NCC job than him.
“He has the knowledge and capacity to bring out the best for the country from the commission in terms of better telecom services and would surely deliver.”
In his submissions before the committee, Maida said the two key areas he would be focusing on are improved coverage and connectivity of telecom services to the remotest parts of the country.
“NCC under my leadership if confirmed as Executive Vice-Chairman by the Senate, would ensure that network subscribers get value for their money, drastic reduction in drop calls, improved network coverage and rural connectivity.
“Technological innovation for stoppage of hacking into subscribers’ accounts would also be at the front burner of actions to be taken in no distant time,” he said.
