Professor Adeolu Akande has taken up his position as chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), having officially been appointed by Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari in December 2019.

Irregular SIM card registration, policy to limit the number of SIM cards for individuals and organisations, and the management of citizen's data have been identified as priorities for Akande.

With increasing call for harmonisation of citizens' data being collected by various agencies, the chairman is also going to be involved in ensuring seamless integration of SIM data with the national database of Nigeria's National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

Prior to this appointment, Akande served as chairman of the board of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Executive Vice Chairman and chief executive officer of the NCC Professor Umar Danbatta said with the swearing-in of Akande, the organisation now has a fully-constituted Board of Commissioners as stipulated in the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003.

He added that Nigeria's six geopolitical zones are represented on the board.

Nigeria's communication and digital economy minister, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami urged the new chairman to "hit the ground running" right away.

"There is no time for celebrations now and no time for honeymoon, we would congratulate the NCC Board after you must have completed your tenure with resounding successes and achievements that have a positive impact on Nigerians," Pantami said.