NCC transfers internet facility to Galaxy

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has officially granted a multimillion naira Internet project installed at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, to Galaxy Backbone Plc, to manage and sustain the service which the Commission conceived and funded to provide Internet services to all civil servants located at the secretariat.

The chief executive officer, NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, who performed the handing over to the Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, expressed satisfaction with what the company has been doing, lately.

“This shows that this facility is in good hands for the benefit of the civil servants,” Ndukwe said.

Pointing out that the Commission had initiated the project in line with its mandate to facilitate and promote the use of ICT in Nigeria, and had obtained the approval of government to deploy Internet services to facilitate governance and the operations of the civil servants that work at the secretariat.

Dr. Ndukwe further said the Internet service for the secretariat was conceived two years ago before Galaxy Backbone was born and that the board of the commission approved the handover of the facility in line with the mandate of Galaxy Backbone to coordinate the provision of ICT facilities for government agencies.

He was optimistic that the company would add a lot of value in the provision and maintenance of the Internet services and other facilities that is has designed to provide within the ICT sector.

In his remark, Mr. Ilukwe commended NCC’s management for this project, and the liberal mindedness in handing over the facility to Galaxy Backbone.

This, he said, is one of the unsung achievements of NCC under Ndukwe watchful eyes, in providing the needed intervention to ensure that the use of ICT facilities is spread and applied for the benefit of governance and management of resources at all levels.

He stressed that it is important the public sector is empowered so that they do not become a lug in the progress of the private sector and that this initiative is a very profound one in empowering the public sector, and that this gesture of the NCC is part of that empowerment.

Galaxy Backbone, Ilukwe said, is thankful to NCC, not only for this gesture but also by its track of achievements in the industry which has opened new vista for the benefit of the nation and has made many things possible in Nigeria’s ICT environment.

“What we have got from NCC is unmatched in a relationship between two organizations of this nature in Nigeria. We have done a joint inspection of the site. Huge investments have already been made, the facilities are high end, and government will have lots of benefits to derive from this infrastructure”, Mr. Ilukwe said.

Expressing gratitude to the Commission for the gesture and requested that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), be made to collaborate with Galaxy Backbone on numerous projects which fall under the purview of management.

Mr. Ilukwe also said that Galaxy Backbone is building its capacity to provide services to both public and private sectors and would continue to improve on what NCC has transferred to it.

He noted that more than N85 Billion has been invested by several organs and agencies of government and that Galaxy Backbone is in the position to coordinate this entire infrastructure to deliver value from the potentials of these deployments.


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