The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) reaffirmed their commitment to deepening regulatory cooperation during a bilateral meeting in Accra on May 8, 2025, setting the stage for enhanced regional integration in West Africa’s telecom sector.
The meeting—held at the NCA Tower—formed part of a two-day benchmarking visit by an eight-member Nigerian delegation led by NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida. The visit focused on cross-border regulatory alignment, oversight strategies, and the sharing of industry best practices between the two telecom giants.
Welcoming the delegation, NCA’s Acting Director General, Rev. Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, emphasized the long-standing bond between the two countries and the urgency of coordinated regulation in a digitally connected region.
“We have always supported each other when needed, and it is important that we continue to set the tone for regional leadership, especially on the international front,” Fianko said. “Ghana is keen to work with Nigeria on areas such as ECOWAS Roaming, cross-border monitoring of shared market players, and regulatory capacity building.”
Fianko noted Ghana’s existing ECOWAS Free Roaming agreements with Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Benin, as well as ongoing trials with The Gambia. He described a future agreement with Nigeria as “especially significant due to the high levels of telecom traffic and trade between the two nations.”
Dr. Maida commended the NCA for its regulatory progress and innovative monitoring tools. “We recognise the strong ties between our institutions and countries, and we are here not just because of what we have heard, but because we have seen the impact of the NCA’s work,” he said.
He added, “Nigeria is eager to collaborate on ECOWAS Roaming and learn from Ghana’s experience dealing with significant market players,” while highlighting Nigeria’s own focus on market size and telecom revenues in shaping its regulatory frameworks.
The visit included a tour of NCA’s regulatory infrastructure, including its Broadcast Monitoring Centre, Network Monitoring System, and Quality of Service (QoS) measurement facilities—tools widely seen as instrumental in Ghana’s enforcement capabilities.
Dr. Maida also extended an invitation to Ghana to join the soon-to-be-launched African chapter of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), stating that “the African chapter is currently in development and would greatly benefit from Ghana’s expertise and leadership.”
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to regulatory harmonization and knowledge exchange, reinforcing the growing collaboration between West Africa’s two largest telecom regulators. As both nations push for greater digital inclusion and cross-border connectivity, the Accra talks may prove to be a critical step toward a more integrated ECOWAS telecom landscape.
