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By Adaobi Nwangwu

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, is dissatisfied with what it terms the flagrant abuse of "Nigeria Telecoms/ICT Awards" by organisations, groups and individuals without experience or expertise with the information and communications technology industry in Nigeria.
In a press statement signed by Bayo Banjo, 1st Vice President and David Roberts; Publicity Secretary, the association said, "ATCON is very concerned about the dangers posed by the indiscriminate and, in most cases, frivolous awards, which often do not follow standardised and credible processes of selection of awardees."
According to ATCON, the association has been undaunted with local and foreign inquiries relating to some ICT awards in Nigeria, and as the umbrella association of operators in the Nigerian Telecommunications/ICT industry, as well as an industry advocacy group, ATCON believes that it is about time to introduce a level of sanity into the business of ICT awards in Nigeria to save the sector and the nation from image problems.
To ensure a credible and internationally recognised and respected ICT awards in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission, all ICT professional associations and concerned industry stakeholders should work together to set up a 'Nigerian Digital Awards Standards Committee' which will set the mandatory standards for credible awards selection processes for the sector.
They noted that it is on record that the communications industry in Nigeria is currently ranked second only to the oil industry, thus undisputedly one of the world's fastest growing markets for mobile communications.
Pointing out that the industry regulator, NCC, today enjoys worldwide respect for its principled, professional and transparent handling of telecom licenses auction processes.
"In fact, Nigeria has led the world in many aspect of telecommunications development since the deregulation of the sector in 1992. All these have brought a sense of pride to our nation and we should not fold our arms and allow self-seeking individuals of group mar these achievements," the group said.