The Nigerian Communications Commissions (NCC) has now made it mandatory for Nigerian telecom licensees to submit their financial statements to it on yearly basis.

NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, in a statement on Tuesday, said that the mandatory submission of financial records on the six licensees will subsist for an initial period of two years after which the regulator may review the list to include other operators.

The licensees include Airtel Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited (9Mobile), Globacom Nigeria, Main One Cable Company Limited and IHS Nigeria.

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According to Adinde, the new regulation was part of the Accounting Separation Framework (ASF) in the telecoms industry the implementation of which commenced on July 15, 2020.

He said the new regulation would create an enabling environment for competition among operators and ensure the provision of qualitative and efficient telecoms services in the industry.

The policy document, “Determination on the Implementation of an Accounting Separation Framework for the Nigerian Telecoms Industry”, which was developed via a consultative process in 2015, has undergone a comprehensive review by the regulator in collaboration with telecoms licensees and other critical industry stakeholders, GNB News gathered.

With the commencement of the implementation of the framework, telecoms licensees are, henceforth, obligated to submit their Regulatory Financial Statement (RFS) to the Commission in line with the new ASF, within seven months after the end of the licensees’ financial year.