By Angeline Mgbele, Correspondent Abuja

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer(EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has emphasised that the Commission will always be open to ideas, innovations and meaningful collaboration with strategic institutions for the development of human capacity in Nigeria.

According to a statement from the Director of Public Affairs (DPA) of NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde Wednesday, Danbatta stated this while addressing the management of Nile University of Nigeria, when it paid a courtesy visit to the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently.

The university delegation had requested for the courtesy visit principally to seek areas of collaboration with the Commission towards enhancing knowledge creation in the country.

Speaking during the visit, Director, Human Capital and Administration at NCC, Usman Malah, who represented the EVC, stated that one of the cardinal pillars underpinning the Commission’s Strategic Management Plan is strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders, through mutually-sustainable collaborations.

According to Malah, as different sectors of the nation’s economy struggle to overcome the temporary challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission will continue to build the necessary relationships and also institute measures that will enhance the performance of critical stakeholders in different sectors of the Nigerian economy.

“The Commission will remain fully committed to ensuring synergy, through its strategic collaborations with relevant stakeholders, such as the Nile University of Nigeria, in order to ensure that the overall socio-economic development objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria are met,” Malah said.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of Nile University, Prof. Osman Aras, who led the delegation, said the institution is seeking public-private partnership and synergy with NCC, as it has done with other government institutions, with a view to enhancing human capital development in the country.

Specifically, Aras said the university will like to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Commission in future to improve academic curriculum, promote student internship and mentorship, organise joint seminars and workshops, amongst others.

“As a private university with limited resources, we believe we need to work together because without synergy with public-sector institutions and critical stakeholders such as NCC, we would not be able to achieve our goal of producing highly-skilled labour required for Nigeria’s rapid economic development,” he said.

 Responding, Malah affirmed that the University’s interest in strategic collaboration with the Commission was laudable and consistent with the vision plan of Prof. Danbatta, pledging to convey their aspiration to the EVC for consideration.