The Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Nigerian Telecommunication Commission (NCC), Efosa Idehen, has hinted that the Commission has intensified efforts for a legal framework to prosecute anybody caught vandalising telecommunications infrastructure.
In a chat with New Telegraph, Idehen said the bill, forwarded to the National Assembly, was undergoing second reading, adding that it would soon be passed by the House.
He said though there was punishment for anybody who damages or vandalises the properties of others, there is need for special punishment for anybody who vandalises telecommunications infrastructure. The NCC director noted that the Commission recently launched the maiden edition of a grassroots sensitisation programme on telecommunications infrastructure vandalism tagged “Village Square Dialogue” in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to him, the programmes is targeted at sensitising the people at the grassroots on the need for them to protect the telecommunications infrastructure. He noted that the forum provided an opportunity for telecom consumers in rural areas to make contributions to the governance process of the telecom ecosystem and to equally engage their service providers to resolve complaints.
“Without telecoms infrastructure, we cannot communicate with friends and family over long distances at the touch of a button and we cannot conduct banking, insurance, governmental services, education, entertainment and many other activities with ease without telecommunications.
This means that telecoms infrastructure is critical to modern existence and we must all do what we can to ensure that we tackle anything that affects their seamless operation,” he said. He emphasised consumer obligations, especially in the area of telecoms infrastructure protection in order to ensure improved quality of service (QoS) and better quality of experience (QoE).
Similarly, a Principal Manager in the Technical Standards and Network Integrity (TSNI) Department of NCC, Kunle Olorundare, spoke on the contributions of telecom to the economy, mobile network development, the benefits of telecoms, network outages, and their causes, and he enjoined consumers to protect telecoms infrastructure.
“By protecting the infrastructure, you are protecting every service offered on the network. You are protecting your money (mobile banking), your jobs (recharge card and phone business), your children’s future (learning on the internet), and even your community (social communication),” Olorundare said, to restate the centrality of telecommunications to individuals, and businesses
Meanwhile, The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Okukenu IV, has applauded the regulatory strides of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in ensuring accelerated growth of the telecommunications sector, thus making the sector a flagship of an enabler of Nigeria’s prosperity.
The paramount ruler gave the commendation when the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM) of NCC, Adeleke Adewolu, led a delegation of NCC staff to Abeokuta, Ogun State where the maiden edition of the Village Square Dialogue (VSD) was launched recently.
“One of the public institutions, whose activities are felt by the generality of Nigerians in many positive ways is NCC and the leadership of the Commission must be commended for its doggedness in ensuring that Nigerians enjoy the benefits of digital revolutions,” he said.
The monarch described NCC as a flagship public institution positively impacting the lives of all Nigerians, charging the people to support the Commission in protecting telecom infrastructure.
