Ernest Ndukwe | About Ernest Ndukwe

Dr Ernest Ndukwe is a professional Communications Engineer, Corporate and Public Service Executive with over 35 years of international experience in the Telecommunications industry, majority of which have been in senior management positions in private multi-national telecommunications enterprises and in government Telecom Policy & Regulation.

Dr Ndukwe is a graduate of the University of Ife and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM) and Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (FAEng). Dr Ndukwe also holds an honorary Doctor of Technology (D.Tech) degree from University of Technology Owerri and double Doctor of Science (D.Sc) degrees from University of Nigeria , Nsukka and the Obafemi Awolowo University , Ile-Ife.

He had a distinguished career in the private sector which started with employment with Radio Communications Nigeria (RCN) Limited in 1976. He proceeded to the United States of America for an in-service training in Satellite Communications systems with Harris Corporation in Melborne, Florida in August 1976. He returned in August 1977 to continue his career with RCN. He excelled in the installation, repair and maintenance of satellite systems and rose rapidly to become a maintenance supervisor in 1978, Assistant Workshop manager same year and assistant engineering manager in 1979. In January 1981 he joined GEC (Telecommunications) Nigeria Ltd as Engineering manager and the first Nigerian Engineer to be employed by the company. He had a successful career path in GEC that culminated in his elevation to the board as Commercial Director in 1988 and Managing Director of the company in 1989. During his tenure as Managing Director, the company was transformed from the status of just a projects implementation subsidiary of its U.K. parent company to a public quoted Nigerian enterprise, General Telecom Plc, employing several Nigerian engineers and professionals. He was also involved in several industry initiatives for engagement with government to encourage the liberalization of the telecom industry, as president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

Dr Ndukwe was appointed Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission by the President in February 2000 and after a meritorious first tenure was reappointed for another term of 5 years. Under his tenure, the NCC witnessed tremendous growth and transformation, earning a reputation as a transparent and open agency. Dr Ndukwe was at the helm during Nigeria 's first Digital Mobile Spectrum Auction, which was commended internationally as a resounding success. This auction process and other licensing initiatives that followed have boosted Nigeria 's image abroad and has led to rapid network growth that has been associated with the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry in the last ten years.

Nigeria 's Telecom Sector has witnessed remarkable transformation since Dr Ndukwe's appointment in 2000 and Nigeria has moved up from the bottom of the ladder to the top ten fastest growing countries in mobile subscriber-base in the world. By end his tenure in March 2010, the nation's subscriber base had grown to over 78.5 million active connected lines from about 400,000 in December 2000. Engr. Ndukwe claims that the greatest legacy of his tenor has been the democratization of communications access in Nigeria and making the benefits and impact of ICT available to the masses especially the poor and the most traditionally disenfranchised groups.

Dr Ndukwe is a past Chairman of the Administrative Council of the African Telecommunications Union and immediate past Chairman of the West African Telecom Regulators Association (WATRA), an organization he helped pioneer. Dr Ndukwe has represented Nigeria at various international events and is a regular resource person at international conferences including International Telecommunications Union (ITU) orgnanised forums and events. He was also a Vice Chairman of Telecom Development Advisory Group (TDAG) of the ITU representing Nigeria . His tenure in the private sector and at the NCC has exposed him to many international travels.

Dr. Ndukwe, on special invitation, has served as adviser to a few countries in Africa on Telecom Policy and Regulation. He is author of several papers on Telecommunications Regulation and Sector Policy.

The Nigerian Communications Commission over which he presided has been severally voted the best Regulatory agency in Africa . The NCC under Dr Ndukwe has also been passionate about human capacity development in the industry which led to the birth of the Digital Bridge Institute, an International Centre for Telecommunications and Information Technology Studies.

He is also the recipient of several industry and civic awards and a recipient of Nigeria 's National Honours and decorated with the rank of OFFICER OF THE ORDER OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC (OFR), one of Nigeria 's prestigious national awards.

Dr Ndukwe is currently the Chairman of the Openmedia Group and the President of the Centre for Infrastructure Policy and Advancement, CIPA. He is also the chairman of an NGO focused on encouraging and facilitating self employment for the youth.

AREAS OF STRENGTH

• Experienced in managing large organizations and enterprises and possesses good corporate legal, human resource, accounting and management skills

• Experienced in transforming low performing organizations to high performing enterprises