Abuja: The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing the Executive Order that criminalises the vandalism of critical national infrastructure, including telecommunications facilities.
Dr Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, made this known during a courtesy visit by the executive members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Mrs Nnenna Ukoha, Head of Public Affairs at the NCC, represented Maida.
President Bola Tinubu signed an Executive Order on June 24, 2024, designating telecom infrastructure as a Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
The order provides a robust legal framework to protect vital assets, ensuring uninterrupted telecom service delivery across Nigeria.
Maida noted that the NCC was now tasked with implementing the order, which addressed rising incidents of vandalism, theft, and obstruction at telecom sites that degraded network quality.
He expressed concern over the destruction of telecom assets, including fibre optic cables, generators, and other critical components.
“The Executive Order now makes the destruction or interference with telecom infrastructure a criminal offence,” he said.
He identified significant challenges facing telecom operations, including vandalism, theft, restricted site access, and damage caused by construction work.
Maida added that telecom operators frequently faced obstruction from local communities, touts, and government agencies demanding levies, which delayed essential maintenance and fuel delivery.
On public concerns regarding data depletion, Maida clarified that mobile networks did not “steal” users’ internet subscriptions.
Instead, he explained that most data usage resulted from automatic phone and app updates, background app activity, hotspot sharing, and video autoplay.
He advised consumers to monitor their data usage, turn off background data updates, understand their data plans, change hotspot passwords regularly, and avoid high-resolution downloads.
According to Maida, the NCC was working with relevant stakeholders to prevent accidental infrastructure damage, particularly fibre cuts during road construction, and emphasised the need for better coordination as construction expands nationwide.
He commended journalists for their role in educating the public and called for continued collaboration between the NCC and the NUJ to ensure accurate information reached Nigerians.
He also highlighted the Commission’s efforts to support underserved areas with affordable internet and to train journalists, particularly senior editors in Lagos and Abuja.
Malam Yakubu Musa, Head of Corporate Communications at NCC, reaffirmed the Commission’s strong partnership with the media, commending its role in consumer education and promoting transparency in the telecom sector.
NUJ FCT Chairman, Grace Ike, expressed the union’s commitment to building a strategic relationship with the NCC, particularly in areas such as public awareness, training, affordable internet access for journalists, and digital inclusion.
She commended the NCC’s regulatory efforts and called for its support in the NUJ FCT’s upcoming Press Week and capacity-building programmes.
The meeting was attended by senior NCC officials overseeing communications, media, protocol, and government relations, as well as members of the NUJ delegation.
