The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given insight into its plans to protect the country’s telecom infrastructure in furtherance of its sustained efforts to ensure improved services and contributions of the telecom industry to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, who gave this hint in his address at a workshop organized by the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC), highlighted the positive changes brought by an Executive Order by President Bola Tinubu which, he said, would help in the commission’s efforts to mitigate disruption of telecom services in the country,
According to him, the Executive Order provides for how to frontally address problems like vandalism, damage to fibre-optic cables, and restricted access to telecom facilities in the industry.
Noting that these myriad of problems have caused huge financial losses and interrupted critical services in the past, the EVC pointed out that the workshop was apposite in view of the urgent need to protect the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
Maida, who also described the collaboration between government agencies, regulators, and industry leaders on how to address the infrastructure problems in the industry as commendable, maintained that partnership remained crucial in creating secure and reliable communication systems in the country and in the West African sub-region.
He lauded President Tinubu, National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, for their commitment to protecting critical infrastructure in the industry with the attanedant positive implications for the performance of the nation’s economy.
On the Right of Way (RoW) problem caused by property owners and government agencies blocking access to telecom facilities, Maida lamented that restricted access had been hampering network expansion and service quality, pointing out that with the Executive Order by the President, there is now a framework to address the problems.
The EVC also expressed optimism about the outlook of the industry, promising that the NCC will focus on raising awareness and working with stakeholders to protect these assets and ensure secure communications for all Nigerians.”
