…Warns road contractors to protect telecom infrastructure
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has expressed concerns over the increasing damage to fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction and other civil works.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, who stated the position of the Commission on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables held at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser, Abuja, disclosed that over 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first six months of 2026, which he attributed largely to road construction, excavation and related civil works.
Maida therefore urged road construction companies, contractors, engineers, government agencies and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre-optic cables during road construction, rehabilitation, excavation and related projects.
The NCC Chief Executive officer said that Nigeria’s drive to expand physical infrastructure must not undermine the digital infrastructure connecting citizens to information, services, markets and economic opportunities.
He further said that communications infrastructure has become a critical national lifeline supporting banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.
The NCC Chief Executive Officer warned that damage to fibre infrastructure could disrupt essential services and impose significant costs on citizens and the wider economy.
Maida said; “To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities”.
The NCC boss noted that in February 2024, fibre cuts, including those caused by road construction, contributed to network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator which affected millions of users for several hours and also put additional pressure on other networks.
Maida further said that the challenge should not be viewed as an issue of blame, saying that road contractors do not deliberately seek to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications operators do not intend to obstruct road construction.
He therefore called for a dependable system of early coordination among road contractors, telecom operators, government agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
In his words; “Our central message is simple: Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure, and we need them to work together”.
Maida also said that the Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministry of Works and that of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables.
He explained that the committee is expected to develop practical coordination mechanisms for protecting fibre infrastructure before, during and after road construction works, adding that the committee’s membership had recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), reflecting the security implications of protecting telecommunications infrastructure, which has been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure.
Maida said the designation means telecommunications infrastructure must be treated as national infrastructure and protected accordingly, with appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial consequences for damage.
He particularly urged telecommunications operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to play their respective roles in preventing fibre damage.
Maid noted that stronger collaboration and advance planning are essential to ensuring that road development does not come at the expense of Nigeria’s critical digital infrastructure.
