The election of Nigeria and other countries, on Monday, into different regional groups that constitute the ITU Council, was the highpoint of the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022, ongoing in Bucharest, the capital city of the Republic of Romania.

In a statement made available to The PUNCH, by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Reuben Muoka, the ITU had re-elected Nigeria based on “the clear recognition of the critical role Nigeria is playing on the global telecom stage,” adding that Nigeria would serve on the council again from 2023-2026.

The statement read in part, “At the conference which started on September 26, 2022, and scheduled to end on October 14, 2022, member states at the event voted on the composition of the next ITU Council and the 12 representatives to serve on the Radio Regulations Board for the next four years. “Like Nigeria and the countries elected into the Council, Bogdan-Martin, as the first woman to lead ITU in its 157-year history, will begin her four-year term from January 2023, when Houlin Zhao would have completed his second final term of four years in office as ITU Secretary General.

“The 21st Plenipotentiary Conference of the council, also saw the election by member states and Doreen Bogdan-Martin of the United States of America, as the organisation’s next secretary-general.”

Muoka added that Nigeria had been grouped to serve in region D for Africa along side other African countries.

He said, “The seats in ITU Council are divided into five regions, A to E. Nigeria was elected into the ITU Council Region D for Africa, which has 13 seats. Other 12 countries elected alongside Nigeria are Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda.

“Elections of member states also took place into the Region A for The Americas (nine seats); Region B for Western Europe (eight seats); Region C for Eastern Europe & Northern Asia (five seats); and Region E, for Asia and Australasia with 13 seats for Africa.”

Commenting on Nigeria’s re-election, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, thanked the ITU member states for the confidence it had in Nigeria expressed by the re-elected into the ITU Council, adding that the country had been playing critical roles over the years.

He said, “The re-election of Nigeria as a member of ITU Council for the next four years, again points to the globally recognised leadership role Nigeria is playing in Africa and at the level of ITU council in the area of telecommunications policy formulation and technical regulations development to drive ITU’s mission and vision.”

The ITU was established to coordinate telecommunications operations and services throughout the world. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and Nigeria became a member on November 4, 1961.

The Nigerian delegation at the conference was led by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami. Other members of the delegation included Chairman, Board of Commissioners of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Adeolu Akande, and the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta.