OSONDU C. NWOKORO

The Management is coordinated by  Osondu C. Nwokoro who is a communications law, policy and strategy specialist and has been very actively involved in the development of the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for the communications industry since the very early stages of its partial liberalization in 1996 through the attainment of full liberalization, up till the present. He had worked at the Nigerian Communications Commission where he was deeply involved in the formulation of the pioneering industry regulatory policies and guidelines and also, in the private sector as a long serving Regulatory Affairs Executive at Airtel Networks Limited. During these periods he served as a member of the Telecommunications Sector Reform Implementation Committee of the National Council on Privatization that wrote the National Telecommunications Policy of 2000 (NTP) and was also very actively involved in the drafting of the Nigeria Communications Act, 2003 which is the governing statutory instrument for the communications industry in Nigeria. He was also chairman of the regulatory sub-group of the National Committee on the review of the NTP, a member of the Presidential Committee on the National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) as well as the Expert Review Committee on the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, 2019. These experiences have afforded Osondu deep passion for and understanding of the issues around digital access in Nigeria.

Osondu is presently founding managing counsel of Greenfields Law, a Nigerian law firm with specialty in communications and technology, public policy and government affairs, stakeholder management and regulatory compliance. In these contexts, Greenfields Law  undertakes assignments around policy and regulatory interventions for digital inclusion and has provided Technical Assistance to the UK Government Prosperity Fund – Nigeria on fostering Effective Right of Way (RoW) Administration and Issuance of Planning Permits for Masts and Towers in Nigeria, a landmark Study which presents pragmatic solutions to the Nigerian government for resolving the long-drawn-out issues around disparate Right of Way and site build permitting processes which militate against broadband access and digital inclusion. In addition to subsequently advising the Anambra State Government (ANSG) on the amendment of its Planning Law in the above respect, the firm has also recently coordinated another Study commissioned by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on digital access for persons living with disabilities and in underserved locations during the COVID-19 pandemic with reference to the adequacy of the governing policy, legal and regulatory prescriptions among other considerations.

Osondu is an independent adviser to the boards of a number of Nigerian agritech and IT hub companies and has been inducted as one of the One Hundred Leading Telecommunications and ICT Personalities in Nigeria by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).