Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is considering imposing sanction on any road contractor that destroys telecommunications metro fibre across the country.

Idris Olorunnimbe, chairman, Board of Commissioners, NCC, stated this at congratulatory visit to the Chairman by members of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) in Lagos yesterday.

According to him, “I think what we need to do to address the damage of metro fibre by government contractors is simply. He who cuts It must fix it, and we’ll take this message to our state governments.

If any contractor knows that if they damage that critical national infrastructure, their work is going to stop and they are going to be the ones to fix it, they will not destroy it.

Responding, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said up until now, there are no consequences for those infractions, and if there are no consequences, the tendency to continue to do bad is very high.

“Contractors of government carrying out roadworks, whether road maintenance or road expansion, and their machines destroy communications super highway at will, if there are consequences, or if there were consequences some of those actions will not have escalated to the level that we are in.

“What the chairman has said today is very important, if you destroy it you fix it. What we are expecting now is that the consequence of managing those problems will be a lot more, and there will be legal deterrent for people from destroying operators’ fibre. I must emphasize the communication super highway. That’s the highway by which all the signals are carried.

“When this highway is broken, it’s like you have a major bridge that’s broken. You can’t reach east, neither can you reach west. And until we take it as the major super communications highway and so protective, we will continue to be where we are.

“That’s actually what it is. When this highway is broken, we are all affected. So, it’s no longer an infrastructure that is for operators, but it belongs to all of us. If I don’t have service on my phone, some of these are the consequence of this violation that we are seeing.

Earlier in his welcome address, Engr. Adebayo highlighted some of the key challenges in the sector which includes: Daily fibre cuts — often caused by federal and state road construction contractors — are creating enormous economic losses.

• Nationwide service disruptions
• Destruction of critical digital infrastructure
• Loss of assets without compensation
• Banking, education, and security interruptions

There is currently insufficient institutional recourse for operators when these damages occur. A structured pre-construction fibre mapping and mandatory coordination framework is urgently required.

Key Regulatory Priorities for Sector Stability

1. Independence of the Regulator

He said regulatory independence ensures:

• Credible oversight
• Investor confidence
• Transparent decision-making
• Long-term sector stability

Independence must not only exist in law — it must be visible in practice.

“We recommend: Legislative reinforcement explicitly affirming NCC independence

• Clear codification of interaction boundaries between the regulator and supervising authorities
• Operational safeguards insulating regulatory processes from undue influence

Multiple Regulation

Overlapping regulatory interventions by various MDAs on matters already within NCC jurisdiction create:

• Duplicative investigations
• Conflicting directives
• Increased compliance costs
• Regulatory uncertainty

“We recommend structured inter-agency coordination frameworks and legislative clarification reaffirming NCC’s exclusive jurisdiction over telecommunications matters.

Multiple Taxation

Adebayo stated that operators continue to face excessive sub-national taxes and levies.

Enforcement tactics such as site shutdowns directly affect Quality of Service and national connectivity.

A harmonized national telecom taxation framework is essential for broadband expansion and digital inclusion.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the House of Representatives Spouses Association (HORSA), organized a specialized two‑day digital literacy and capacity‑building workshop for the spouses of members of the House of Representatives.

The initiative, themed “Empowering Women for a Digital Future: Leadership, Wellbeing, and Opportunity,” is designed to equip spouses of lawmakers with the tools needed to navigate the modern digital economy and the unique demands of public life.

Moving beyond basic computer literacy, the workshop offers a comprehensive suite of skills, including financial and digital literacy—focused on using digital tools for business growth and personal finance management; cybersecurity and digital wellbeing—promoting online safety, data protection, and mental health resilience; and economic empowerment—unlocking opportunities in remote work, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and digital entrepreneurship.

Declaring the workshop open on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, PhD, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, said the workshop underscores the crucial role spouses play in supporting public office holders. He described spouses as trusted advisers whose understanding of legislative responsibilities helps lawmakers perform more effectively.

He noted that the demanding nature of legislative work often places strain on family life, adding that empowering spouses with digital and leadership skills would strengthen their capacity to provide informed support and constructive feedback to their partners in public service. He urged participants to take full advantage of the training, stressing that continuous learning is essential in an increasingly digital world.

Kalu further observed that many spouses already lead humanitarian and development initiatives in their communities, and that the skills gained from the programme would enhance communication, strategic planning, and resource mobilisation, thereby deepening their contribution to community development and national growth.

In his welcome address, the NITDA Director‑General, Kashifu Inuwa, said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s drive to build a sustainable digital economy by ensuring that no group is excluded from digital opportunities due to skills gaps. He noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of Bola Ahmed Tinubu places digitalisation and innovation at the heart of economic diversification and inclusive growth.

He added that NITDA is implementing a national digital literacy framework aimed at achieving 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030, driven through three key focus areas: integrating digital skills into formal education, upskilling public servants, and expanding community‑level digital inclusion.

Inuwa described women as critical drivers of Nigeria’s digital transformation, noting that empowering spouses of lawmakers with digital skills would strengthen leadership at home and positively influence legislative processes at the National Assembly. He explained that NITDA is working with the Ministry of Education and global technology partners to train teachers nationwide, while over 54,000 public servants are currently enrolled in the Agency’s digital literacy programmes.

He also stated that through community champions deployed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, millions of Nigerians are being reached annually with basic digital skills training, stressing that national leaders must not be left behind in Nigeria’s digital transition. According to him, digitally literate spouses can play a vital role in encouraging technology‑driven governance, including ongoing efforts to digitise legislative processes.

In her goodwill message, the Leader of HORSA and wife of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Tajudeen Abbas, described the workshop as a historic milestone and the first comprehensive capacity‑building programme organised by the 10th Assembly for spouses of lawmakers. She noted that public life in a digital age now extends beyond physical spaces into online platforms, making digital and financial literacy, cyber protection, and digital wellbeing essential skills for spouses of national leaders.

Hajiya Abbas emphasised that the sessions on mental health, emotional resilience, entrepreneurship, and leadership were timely, as spouses of public office holders often shoulder invisible emotional responsibilities. According to her, empowering women economically strengthens families and communities, adding that the knowledge gained from the workshop would not only support lawmakers behind the scenes but also enable women to contribute more meaningfully to national development in the digital economy.

The event also featured goodwill messages and contributions from senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim; the Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses’ Forum, Prof. (Mrs.) Olufolake Abdulrazaq; the Chairman of the House Committee on ICT, Hon. Stanley Olajide; the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara; and the Managing Director of the South-South Development Commission, Usoro Offiong Akpabio.

Ukandu E. Ukandu, Managing Director/CEO of FirstCap Limited, a leading investment banking firm and subsidiary of First HoldCo Plc., has reaffirmed that payment security remains the most decisive factor in determining whether gas and power projects in Nigeria secure financing.

He shared this perspective during a panel discussion on project bankability at the 2026 SPE Lagos Energy Week.

Ukandu noted that although several risks influence financing decisions, payment risk consistently emerges as the key barrier to financial close.
“Every major risk matter, but payment risk is the ultimate deal‑breaker. Without strong payment security and disciplined collections, no project can attract sustainable financing,” he said.

He explained that lenders typically evaluate three core risk pillars, payment reliability, foreign‑exchange exposure, and contract enforceability, with payment reliability presenting the greatest challenge across Nigeria’s energy value chain. Persistent collection inefficiencies, rising arrears, and liquidity pressures continue to weaken investor confidence.

To enhance payment security, Ukandu highlighted mechanisms widely used by financiers, including letters of credit, bank guarantees, escrow accounts with payment‑waterfall structures, reserve and sinking funds, sovereign or sub‑sovereign support, and take‑or‑pay offtake agreements.

Addressing foreign exchange risk, he noted that volatility remains difficult to manage, especially for projects with dollar‑denominated costs but naira‑denominated revenues. Lenders typically mitigate this through foreign exchange ‑linked tariff indexation, partial dollarisation for credible industrial offtakers, escrow protections, selective hedging, and foreign exchange reserve buffers.

However, he cautioned that indexation alone seldom eliminates exposure due to regulatory limits and timing delays.

On legal and regulatory certainty, Ukandu stressed the need for contracts that are enforceable and clearly structured, particularly around take‑or‑pay obligations, termination payments, step‑in rights, and dispute‑resolution frameworks. He added that factors such as tariff adjustments, licence changes, and price controls can significantly affect project viability if they are not fully addressed at the contracting stage.

While fiscal incentives such as tax holidays and accelerated depreciation can strengthen project economics, Ukandu emphasised that they cannot compensate for weak fundamentals.
“Incentives make a good project better, but they do not make a weak project bankable. Cash‑flow reliability and disciplined foreign exchange management must come first,” he said. He also noted that naira‑based incentives may lose value if project revenues are not indexed.

He concluded by urging industry players to prioritise revenue security from the earliest stages of project structuring: “Protect returns at the source. Build strong offtake arrangements with solid credit support and currency alignment to ensure cash is received in full and on time.”