From left: Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida and acting Director General/CEO of Ghana’s National Communications Authority NCA, Rev. Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko during a two-day benchmarking and coordination visit by the NCC delegation to Accra, Ghana recently.

The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC and Ghana’s National Communications Authority NCA have commenced a process aimed at strengthening communications regulatory ties to boost communication not only among the two countries, but also within the West African sub-region.

This is sequel to a two-day high-level visit by a team of NCC top officials to Ghana, where the two countries agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in telecommunications regulation aimed at fostering cross-border regulatory alignment, knowledge sharing, and regional harmonisation in line with global standards.

The visit also provided a platform for the NCC and NCA to exchange insights on critical regulatory areas such as Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring, telecom infrastructure protection, consumer protection strategies, and cybersecurity, which are key pillars for building a robust and innovation-friendly telecoms sector.

Some of the slide presentations during the visit

The Nigerian team was led by the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, toured the NCA’s state-of-the-art facilities, including the Communications Monitoring Centre CMC, which facilitates near real-time monitoring of QoS across Ghana via its Network Monitoring System. The team also visited the NCA’s Common Platform, an integrated system used for monitoring the financial performance of licensed operators.

Speaking during the visit, Dr. Maida commended the NCA’s regulatory advancements, particularly in real-time monitoring and addressing market dominance.

“We are here because of Ghana’s impressive regulatory infrastructure and innovation. Nigeria is eager to collaborate on Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, Roaming and learn from Ghana’s expertise”, he said.

As part of measures to boost continental collaborations, Dr. Maida urged Ghana to join the African chapter of the International Institute of Communications IIC, which is currently at the developmental stage.

Meanwhile, acting Director-General of the NCA, Rev. Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, who took office in January 2025, welcomed the NCC team and stressed the importance of sustained collaboration between Nigeria and Ghana.

“As regional leaders, we must continue to set benchmarks on the international stage. Ghana is keen to partner Nigeria on ECOWAS Roaming, cross-border regulatory oversight, and capacity-building initiatives to drive regional integration”, Fianko stated.

He highlighted the significance of collaboration, given the substantial trade and traffic between the two ECOWAS leading nations.

A highpoint of the visit was when both regulators took their turns to showcase key achievements, with the NCC highlighting Nigeria’s National Identity Number –Subscriber Identification Module (NIN-SIM) integration policy, Incident Reporting Platform, Tariff Simplification Framework, and the designation of telecoms infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure CNII, all of which have strengthened consumer protection and regulatory efficiency.

The NCA-boss, who also shared insights, emphasised the Agency’s focus on regulatory innovation, data-driven oversight, and stakeholder engagement, which have improved compliance and service quality in Ghana’s telecoms industry.

It would be recalled that Ghana currently has ECOWAS Free Roaming agreements with Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Republic of Benin, with pilot arrangements underway with The Gambia.

The visit concluded with both regulators committing to joint initiatives, technical cooperation, and ongoing knowledge exchange. This partnership sets a strong precedent for unified telecom regulation in West Africa, advancing the shared goal of inclusive, secure, and consumer-centric digital economies.