Workers in the nation’s telecommunications industry under the aegis of the Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association (PTECSSAN) will today (Monday) begin an indefinite nationwide strike over sack, and poor working conditions among others.

Among the employees going on strike include field maintenance engineers, transmission engineers, customer service engineers, fibre engineers, and other critical staff.

There are fears that strike could disrupt telecommunications services nationwide if not resolved quickly.

PTECSSAN had given notice of the strike in a statement signed by Mr Okonu Abdullahi, its general secretary.

Abdullahi said the strike had become necessary following alleged anti-labour practices including the refusal of the employers to recognise and respect the workers’ constitutional rights to freely associate with the union.

He alleged also that three members of the union were unjustly sacked. He said: “We shall not be suspending the planned indefinite strike action until our demands, which are as follows, are met:

“Immediate reinstatement of the three unjustly sacked workers: Sotola Sunday Kolawole, Ulu Ikechukwu Christopher and Alex Franklin C.”

“Immediate recognition of the fundamental right of the employees to freely associate with the union, “ he said.

According to the general secretary, other demands include immediate recognition of the union as the negotiating body for the employees on workers welfare.

He said also that the union was demanding the immediate remittance of membership dues into its account as earlier provided among others.

“We hope that these companies will utilise the seven-day window of this notice to meet our demands and avert the indefinite strike action,” Abdullahi said

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is working closely with law enforcement agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Police Force to track and apprehend individuals involved in identity theft and cybercrime.

This is coming on the heels of rising insecurity and other criminalities which has cashed into the poorly regulated SIM card registration.

Identity theft has been a major challenge faced by Nigeria.

According to Nigeria Tribune, it is not uncommon for criminals to use SIM cards registered under different names to aid in their illegal activities.

For example, kidnappers often use unregistered SIM cards or ones registered under false names to demand ransom from their victims’ families.

Dr Rueben Mouka, director Public Affairs of the NCC, said the major step taken by the NCC to address identity theft is the initiation of the mandatory linking of the National Identity Number with individual’s sim cards., according to Nigeria Tribune.

Apart from this huge step, the NCC had also taken more steps to address this issue and secure individuals from criminal elements.

The NCC had initiated the mandatory registration of sim cards and even took more steps to ensure that all the sims are linked to the individual’s National Identity Number (NIN).

This move is very strategic because once you have a NIN, your data would have been in possession of the government. This will reduce identity theft.

The NCC mandated telecom operators to register all SIM cards with valid identification documents such as the National Identification Number (NIN).

This helps in linking phone numbers to individuals, reducing the chances of criminals using unregistered lines for fraudulent activities.

The NCC is also supporting the government’s drive to integrate SIM cards with the National Identity Number (NIN) database.

This ensures that every mobile phone user in Nigeria is properly identified, making it more difficult for fraudsters to impersonate others or engage in identity theft.

To ensure that Nigerians are carried along in this strategic move, the NCC is currently running an awareness campaign to educate the public on how to protect their personal data, avoid sharing sensitive information with strangers, and recognize common tactics used in identity theft schemes.

The NCC has also implemented policies that require telecom companies to protect subscriber data from unauthorized access.

These regulations aim to ensure that personal information is not leaked or misused by third parties.

The Commission is also promoting capacity building in cybersecurity through training and collaboration with local and international bodies. This helps improve the country’s ability to prevent and respond to identity theft incidents.

MTN, telecoms firm at the weekend dismissed complaints against Ralph Mupita, chief executive officer (CEO) for alleged favouritism after an independent report cleared his name.

It said in a statement it had noted the media reporting in the past few days regarding allegations of complaints against members of the Group’s executive.

“MTN shareholders are advised that the Group board (the Board) held a special meeting on Wednesday 4, September 2024 to deliberate on a report by an independent law firm, assisted by counsel, tasked to verify allegations contained in an anonymous complaint against members of the MTN executive.

“The independent report (the Report) stated that attempts to engage with the complainant were unsuccessful and found that there was no evidence of improper conduct by those cited in the complaint,” it said.

MTN said in its deliberations, the board had accepted the report finding and is of the view that the matter had been addressed and is now closed.

“The Board further expressed its full support for the Group Chief Executive Officer and the MTN strategy,” it said.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported on September 1 that an unspecified number of executives threatened to quit after complaining about Mupita allegedly giving preferential treatment to a woman executive.

Bloomberg reported that ten of MTN’s 15 executives, besides Mupita, responded by signing a memo backing the CEO, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorised to discuss it publicly.

Mupita, whose contract is up for renewal next year, has been leading the South African telecommunications company for four years and was its finance chief previously. He sent a letter to staff earlier this week assuring them that the company has governance processes in place to address employee matters, including those concerning senior leadership, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg.