The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged road construction companies, contractors, engineers and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre-optic cables during road construction, rehabilitation and other civil works across the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the call on Tuesday 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, in Abuja.
Maida said Nigeria’s drive to expand physical infrastructure must not come at the expense of the digital infrastructure that connects citizens to information, financial services, education, healthcare, commerce and security services.
He described communications infrastructure as a critical national asset, warning that damage to fibre networks could disrupt essential services and impose significant costs on citizens and the economy.
“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,” he said.
The NCC chief disclosed that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first half of 2026, largely caused by road construction, excavation and related civil works.
He recalled that in February 2024, fibre cuts, including those linked to road construction activities, led to an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of subscribers for several hours and placing additional pressure on other networks.
Maida said the issue was not about assigning blame, noting that road contractors did not intentionally seek to disconnect communities, while telecommunications operators were not trying to obstruct infrastructure projects. He stressed the need for a dependable system of early coordination among all stakeholders.
“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,” he said.
He announced that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables to develop practical coordination mechanisms before, during and after road works.
According to him, the committee’s membership has recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, reflecting the security implications of protecting telecommunications infrastructure.
Maida noted that telecommunications infrastructure has been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, requiring it to be treated as national infrastructure and protected accordingly under relevant legal and regulatory frameworks.
He urged telecom operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to make coordination an integral part of project planning and execution.
The workshop forms part of ongoing efforts by the NCC and other stakeholders to institutionalise coordination mechanisms that will safeguard telecommunications infrastructure, minimise service disruptions and support Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
The workshop is expected to produce a framework for the protection of telecommunications fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities.
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