The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has urged community leaders and residents in Ogun State to take ownership of their telecommunication infrastructure and protect it from vandalism.
The NCC also urged them not to be afraid to report any form of infrastructure sabotage they may encounter in their respective areas, emphasizing that the Commission would not relinquish its responsibility to protect telecom customers and ensure they receive the best possible service from service providers.
Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Leke Adewolu, made the demand during a Village Square Meeting organized by the NCC at the Centenary Hall, Ake, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
He stated that concerns such as hostile communities, the theft of diesel, batteries, and power generators, the digging up of fiber cables, the sealing/locking-up of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) sites, and other unlawful actions must be dealt with aggressively at the communal level.
“As a result, I implore you to treat telecoms infrastructure as if it were your own, and to defend it as communal property.” “Anyone who tampers with telecoms infrastructure is meddling with your and your children’s futures — they should be opposed and reported,” Adewolu warned.
While emphasizing that one of the Commission’s most essential obligations is to defend consumers’ interests, he claims that the Commission has effectively articulated a PIE mandate that allows it to Protect, Inform, and Educate telecoms service consumers wherever they may be in the country.
Adewolu went on to say that outreach events like Telecoms Consumer Parliaments, Telecoms Consumer Town Hall Meetings, Online engagement media, and Consumer Conversations with various strategic segments of telecoms consumers like professionals, students, and markets have been renamed Village Square Dialogues.
According to him, the goal is to create a platform for telecommunications subscribers and other important stakeholders, as well as the telecom industry, to engage with consumers on a grassroots level to solve their problems and provide them with relevant information on issues affecting the industry’s smooth operations.
“We’ve convened here in Ake to talk about one of the most pressing issues confronting the telecoms sector today: how we can all work together to guarantee that telecoms infrastructure is protected and that its capacity is preserved so that it can continue to supply us with life-sustaining services.” As we all know, telecommunications services have long been considered as the simplest and most cost-effective way to satisfy essential socioeconomic requirements like education, financial inclusion, economic empowerment, and deepening social interactions.
“The infrastructure that enables the digitalization and seamless integration of all other socio-economic platforms is known as the “infrastructure of infrastructures.” We can’t interact with friends and family over great distances at the push of a button without telecoms infrastructure, and we can’t easily perform banking, insurance, government services, education, or entertainment without it. This means that telecommunications infrastructure is crucial to modern existence, and we must all do our part to ensure that anything that disrupts their smooth operation is addressed,” Adewolu stated.
