Nigeria Content Online

A new bill advanced
by the House of Representatives seeks to ensure a greater participation
of Nigerians in the telecommunications sector and will mandate
companies to reserve at least 30% of total shares to Nigerians.

The lawmakers said
the bill is designed to foster more local ownership and management of
the telecoms sector, which is currently dominated by foreign groups,
and an actual transfer of technical capacity that will boost indigenous
operations in the sector.

The new, bill
titled, “A bill for an Act to make provisions for Nigerians to acquire
interest in telecommunications companies carrying on GSM in Nigeria and
other matter connected therewith,” and “A bill for an Act to facilitate
electronic transactions in Nigeria and other related matters and” were
presented for public hearings last week.

While declaring the
hearing open, the speaker of the House, Dimeji Bankole, said the
Nationa Assembly intend to stimulate local participation in management
and ownership of the GSM sub-sector.

He said the
question of local content, presently obtained in the oil sector after
National Assembly passed its legislation recently, should go beyond the
mere acquisition of operational licenses.

“Without the
acquisition of appropriate technology, managerial know-how, and
enhancing the share of our peoples’ participation in the telecoms
industry, the aim of the overall policy on local content will be a mere
ritual that will not translate into local ownership of the Nigerian
economy,” Mr. Bankole advised.

Culture of efficiency

On the Electronic
Transfer bill, the speaker said the intent is to provide a legal
framework to facilitate electronic financial transactions in the
country in order to institute a culture of “efficiency, transparency
and probity”.

The House chairman
on Communications, Dave Salako, whose committee is in charge of
developing the two bills, said Nigeria’s savings and investments in the
nation’s telecommunication industry will help stimulate economic growth.

The bill when passed would mandate all GSM operators to comply with
the provisions of the law within one year and six months, respectively.