NCC REFUTES AN ONLINE RUMOR THAT IT INCURRED LOSS IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2021

On Tuesday, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, stated that its attention had been attracted to an online publication with the headline: "NCC incurs a deficit of N17 billion, spending N35.2 billion on personnel and consultancy fees."

NCC expressed concern over the online publication's inability to appropriately understand the contents of its 2021 Annual Reports, which have been made public.

As a result, the commission stated that the publication conveyed the incorrect impression that it (NCC) incurred a N17bn loss due to staff and consultancy fees, which is far from the case.

The commission stated that while the Statement of the Commission's Financial Performance for the period ended December 2021 clearly indicated that the sum of N17.3bn was a "Surplus/(Deficit) retained for the period"), this does not imply that the Commission incurred a cash deficit because the expenditure in its financials were both in cash and accruals applicable to the year.

"If the publication had inquired of the constituents of our expenditure, it would have learnt that the expenditures for the year 2021 included accruals for items undergoing procurement at the end of the year, like the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative, SABI, being implemented by the Commission, which was standing in the sum of about N24bn in the financial report," a statement from the commission on Tuesday said.

The NCC also stated that it submitted an estimated N197.7 billion in Operating Surplus/Spectrum Fees to the Federal Government during the same Financial Performance Reporting period, and had a bank balance of around N46.97 billion, removing any doubt that there was any deficit spending.

The commission "disclaims the wrong impression created by the above headline, and subsequent misinterpretation of our financial report in the publication may have had in the minds of the public, and stakeholders," according to the statement.

In all of its regulatory, management, and financial functions, the commission reaffirmed its commitment to effective and transparent processes.