NCC Deploys 84 IT Projects to Support Persons with Disabilities
Emma Okonji
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has deployed 84 assistive Information Technology projects at different locations in Nigeria to support people with special needs while supporting policies that enable disadvantaged members of the society to live a more qualitative life.
The E-Accessibility project seeks to meet the ICT needs of persons living with disabilities in Nigeria by providing ICT tools, assistive technologies, training, and internet provision in the identified locations.
Between 2012 and 2020, the NCC said it deployed the E-Accessibility Projects in at least, 84 locations nationwide.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed this in Abuja recently, during a courtesy visit by a delegation from National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to the NCC in its corporate headquarters.
During the visit, Danbatta restated NCC’s commitment to continually support people with special needs across the country.
Danbatta, while receiving the NCPWD team led by its Executive Secretary, James Lalu, said the telecom regulator had always implemented initiatives aimed at ensuring digital inclusivity for all Nigerians regardless of their circumstances.
Represented by the Director, Human Capital and Administration at NCC, Usman Malah, Danbatta said telecoms sector had become the backbone of the national economy and has recorded tremendous growth from 400,000 telephone lines on the eve of sectoral deregulation in 2000 to over 208 million active telephone lines now, just as active Internet subscription rose to 156 million in the last two decades.
In his remarks, Lalu, said the purpose of the agency’s visit was to keep the NCC management abreast of its mandates and activities, and to seek greater collaborations with NCC for the benefits of estimated 35.5 million persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
He commended the NCC for the wonderful work it has been doing through various projects in support of people with disabilities in the country. Lalu slso appealed to the NCC to help in creating awareness among telecom service providers to comply with the legal requirement to dedicate five per cent of their employment quota to persons with disabilities.
