75% of electronic devices imported to Nigeria are toxic junk – NCC

About 75 per cent of electronic devices imported into Nigeria annually are toxic junk and irreparable, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.  The NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, who disclosed this during the public inquiry on draft guidelines on disaster recovery and draft regulations on e-waste, yesterday, in Abuja, said this […]

About 75 per cent of electronic devices imported into Nigeria annually are toxic junk and irreparable, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said. 

The NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, who disclosed this during the public inquiry on draft guidelines on disaster recovery and draft regulations on e-waste, yesterday, in Abuja, said this was due to the low income of most Nigerians and their desperate quest for information.

According to Prof Danbatta, the threat being posed by e-waste is so glaring and the NCC can’t just ignore it.

“In a fast-paced telecoms industry where speed and capacity define the networks, rapid advances in technology make it easier and convenient to change malfunctioning gadgets than to repair them.

“Also, the illegal and predatory e-waste value chain, which encourages the movement of e-waste from developed to the developing countries, adds another layer to the global challenge of handling e-waste.

“In Nigeria, due to low GDP per capital/low income, and the desperate quest for information, it is estimated that 76% of electronics imported into the country are irreparable and toxic junk,” he said.

The NCC boss said in line with the commission’s regulatory mandate, the telecom’s industry regulator had developed a draft regulations on e-waste.

He said the draft regulations represents a holistic intervention aimed at providing clarity and delimiting the responsibilities of various stakeholders in the e-waste value chain within the telecommunications industry.

While the draft regulations is industry-specific, he said, it nonetheless keys into initiatives at national and international levels.

The NCC’s Director of Legal and Regulatory Services, Mrs Yetunde Akinloye, while presenting the general overview of guidelines on disaster recovery and e-waste, said a fine of up to N10 million is being proposed against any company that flouts the regulations on e-waste.