NCC Says Telcos Lose Billions of Naira to Vandalism, Theft
Telecommunications operators in Nigeria are currently facing enormous challenges with frequent fibre cuts, vandalism, and theft of equipment costing them billions of Naira, says Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Maida made this known, while delivering the keynote address at the launch of the CNII Protection and Resilience Workshop, organized by the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC) under the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Maida said Nigeria is now set to address the challenge following the recent declaration of telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) by President Bola Tinubu through an Executive Order.
EVC NCC highlighted that the workshop series was to drive the urgent implementation of the CNII Executive Order as a major step towards securing Nigeria’s communications and digital infrastructure.
Maida said “The telecom industry faces significant challenges, including frequent fibre cuts, vandalism, and theft, which cost operators billions of Naira in revenue and billions of Naira in repair expenses.
“Additionally, restricted access to telecom facilities by property owners and government entities hampers network expansion efforts, limiting connectivity and impacting service quality.”
Recall that stakeholders in the Nigerian ICT sector have over the years, been calling on the government to designate telecom infrastructure as a critical national asset to address the persistent attacks on the infrastructure across the country.
