NCAA, Globacom and Regulatory Impropriety

President Barack Obama in his first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa in 2009, during his renowned speech at Ghanaian parliament, urged Africa to build strong institutions. He said, “Africa does not need strong men. It needs strong institutions.” The need for strong institutions with regulatory prowess to uphold rule of law, ensure efficiency, and ease of doing business, cannot be overemphasized. While strong institutions are needed to build nations, businesses, etc., unchecked excesses of such institutions, especially government regulatory agencies can be counterproductive and at the end, achieve the opposite.

· Recently, there was media report containing what supposed to be confidential correspondences between Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Globacom Limited with the title: “Illegal Erection of High Structures and Refusal to Renew Expired Aviation Height Clearance Certificates by Globacom Nigeria Limited”. In the letter, NCAA is alleging that Globacom Limited is indebted to the agency over the latter’s failure to pay N5.9 billion as renewal fees for “height clearance” and other related fees.

· In earlier memo, NCAA also accused Globacom Limited of allegedly breaching air safety by erecting telecommunication masts without Aviation Height Clearance approvals and failure to renew already expired ones: “Please be reminded that Section 30(3) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 empowers the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by law to prohibit and regulate the installation of any structure, which by virtue of its height or position is considered to endanger the safety of air navigation”.

· After reading the story cum correspondences between the two parties, I would have commended NCAA for living up to its responsibility as civil aviation watchdog in ensuring safety of airways, but the motive of the letter to Globacom Limited was not borne out of concern for safety, but exploitative tendencies. It is true that government needs revenues generated via fees, taxes, etc., to fund the budget and other financial obligations but debt recovery not properly manage can create more problems in a strategic sector like telecom industry.

· And when debt recovery is confused with safety regulations, it sends conflicting signals. Every corporate entity should as a matter of responsibility pay its debts. I am not saying that Globacom Limited is above the law and cannot be sanctioned by the authorized agency if found wanting, but this should be done properly, so that no one’s right is trampled upon at the end of the day because where one person’s rights ends another person’s own begins.

· NCAA complained of illegal erection of towers/masts and non-payment of the renewal of height clearance certificates by Globacom Limited. Ironically, from NCAA’s standpoint as expressed in the letters, what made those masts/towers illegal, was because payment for Aviation Height Clearance Certificates had not been made as alleged, not necessarily because Globacom’s masts breached any safety of air navigation. In as much I condemn any act of illegality, NCAA’s position is riddled with contradictions.

· So, if Globacom Limited had paid for height clearance certificates for newly erected masts and renewed expired ones, those masts termed “unsafe” and “Illegal” by NCAA would have automatically become “safe” and “legal”. In the foregoing, the only yardstick that made NCAA to mark them as “Illegal” and “unsafe” was as a result of revenues that would have accrued from those telecommunication infrastructure. This is very unfortunate.

· Chidiebere Nwobodo, Abuja