The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications
Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, has broken his silence over newspaper reports
alleging underhand dealings in the allocation of spectrum licences.

The major bone of contention has been the allocation of a
frequency slot belonging to the Nigeria Police to a private firm, OpenSkys.

Juwah noted in a
telephone chat that “due process was followed in the allocation and the process
was initiated long before he assumed office.

“When I assumed office, I pledged to myself to avoid the
Nigerian penchant of jettisoning projects initiated by past administrations.
All we did was to bring to a conclusion a process that began in 2009.”

Media reports have alleged frequent spectrum racketeering by
the current leadership of the telecoms industry regulatory agency to OpenSkys
and Smile Communications.

A statement from the NCC has attempted to put the issues in
perspective by providing clarification regarding how the spectrum allocation
process is carried out.

According to the NCC, the Frequency allocations to OpenSkys
were not only in “compliance with the Nigerian Communications Act, but also in
full implementation of a Presidential Directive of July 5, 2007.

This directive was fully deliberated upon by the Board of
the Commission during its 62nd, 63rd and 64th Sittings and other subsequent
meetings. “

The commission noted that the provisional offer of frequency
was made to OpenSkys as far back as October 2, 2009 and at that period “the
Nigerian Police was still occupying some of the frequencies in the 450MHz Band.

The then Ministry of Communications had on October 5, 2005,
conveyed to the Police the decision of the National Frequency Management Board,
for it to be relocated by the Commission.

“The decision to allocate part of the 450Mhz frequency was
therefore not made by the NCC nor by Dr, Juwah. It was a decision that predated
his appointment by almost five years.

In fact, the NCC noted that the approval for commercial and
corporate entities to “use the 450 MHz for commercial telecommunications
was given by the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) on
November 5, 2004.

After this approval, occupants in this band like the police,
NITEL, Shell, Chevron, and some others, were relocated to specific portions of
the band. The NCC was categorical that the frequency reserved for the police
has not been tampered with or reallocated to OpenSkys, as has been alleged in
some media reports.

The relocation of occupants in the various portions of the
band was ongoing till 2009. The NFMC approved Frequency bandwidth of 500 KHz
for the Nigerian Police specifically on 469.375 – 469.975 MHz / 459.375 –
459.975 MHz of this spectrum for relocation away from the Commercial Band.

When the Inspector General of Police approved the
relocation, following further meetings with NIGCOMSAT on behalf of OpenSkys,
NIGCOMSAT also submitted the cost of the relocation. The Commission then made
an initial offer of frequency to OpenSkys on February 4, 2009, with a condition
of acceptance within 30 days. OpenSkys accepted the offer on February 23, 2009
almost two years before Dr. Juwah was appointed as EVC.

On October 2, 2009, a clear one year before Dr. Juwah was
even appointed EVC, the NCC management upon review of the status of the offer,
thereafter “issued a provisional offer of the frequency to Openskys on the
condition of payment of total spectrum fees for the 5MHz spectrum for a tenure
of 5 Years of N1,140,000,000 (One Billion, One Hundred and Forty Million Naira
Only), out of which the sum of N247,544,989.40 was earmarked for the
replacement of digital radio equipment of the Nigerian police as may result
from the relocation. The sum of N892,455,010.60 representing the balance of the
spectrum fees for the offer was to be paid to the Commission.”

The NCC noted in their statement that such fees for
Frequency allocation are “paid, mandatorily, into the federation account and a
letter of frequency assignment stating the exact frequency channels, and other
conditions of use is usually issued to the company upon receipt of proof of
payment.”

These, the NCC explained are the processes in place to
ensure transparency in the process and they were all followed to the letter.