NCC Decries Over 5,000 Fibre Cuts, Urges Protection of Infrastructure During Road Works
Oru Leonard
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on 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 and other excavation works across the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the call on 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.
Maida warned that the expansion of physical infrastructure must not come at the expense of the digital infrastructure that connects Nigerians to information, financial services, businesses and other essential services.
He disclosed that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first six months of 2026, largely linked to road construction, excavation and other civil works.
According to him, telecommunications infrastructure has become a critical national lifeline supporting banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.
“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,” Maida said.
He recalled that fibre cuts in February 2024, including those caused by road construction activities, triggered an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and putting additional pressure on other networks.
The NCC chief executive stressed that the issue should not be viewed as a blame game, noting that road contractors do not deliberately seek to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications operators do not intend to obstruct construction activities.
He, however, emphasised the need for early and effective coordination among telecommunications operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security institutions.
“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.
Maida disclosed 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 construction works.
He further revealed that the committee had recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, given the security implications of protecting telecommunications infrastructure.
He said telecommunications infrastructure has been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, requiring it to be treated and protected as national infrastructure, with appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial consequences for damage.
The EVC urged all stakeholders to make fibre protection an integral part of the planning and execution of road and other excavation projects.
He said the Abuja workshop was part of continuing efforts to institutionalise coordination mechanisms that would safeguard telecommunications infrastructure, minimise service disruptions and support Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
The workshop is expected to contribute to the development of a framework for protecting telecommunications fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities.
