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The Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) has denied that its accounts have been
frozen due to the change in leadership, it said in a statement
yesterday.

“While it is not
the intention of the Commission to join issues with the press, we have
the responsibility to inform the Nigerian public, that no account of
the Commission has been frozen for whatever reason.

“This embarrassing
report is a figment of the imagination of the author and should be
discountenanced by the reading public,” it said.

No crisis in NCC

Barely a week after
Bashir Gwandu was appointed as an acting executive vice-chairman for
the commission, the NCC was also forced to explain that there was no
crisis at the commission.

“We wish to also
inform the public that there is no crisis of succession in the
commission. For the avoidance of any doubt, Bashir Gwandu, the
Executive Commissioner in charge of Engineering and Standards, have
since 21 June been appointed the acting executive vice chairman of the
commission.

“This followed
government’s directive to the former acting executive vice chairman,
Stephen Bello, whose five-year tenure as an Executive Commissioner with
the Commission expires on July 5, 2010, to proceed on his formal
retirement.”

In a telephone interview, Deolu Ogunbanjo, the president of National
Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), said, “There is nothing
wrong with the appointment of Mr. Gwandu. I think he would be able to
perform better and he would definitely perform. I do not think that the
recent change in leadership in the commission would create a negative
reaction in the sector, as the NCC is a regulatory body and this is
only a temporary situation.”