Emulate Edo Example to Reduce Fibre Cuts During Road Constructions, NCC Tells States

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged other states of the federation to emulate the approach adopted by the Edo State government in road construction whereby contractors notify the NCC and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) before commencing road construction works.

The NCC Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Dr. Amimu Maida, who made the call at the 2026, NCC breakfast meeting with journalists yesterday in Abuja, commended the Edo State government.

Maida said the model would be adopted by the commission and urged other states to emulate the state.

He said, “I would commend a particular state, Edo State, for how they have approached the matter. 

“I would like to appreciate Edo State in the way they have handled that collaboration in a very simple but effective manner, whereby their contractors, prior to starting any work, they send out letters with the commission informed to all the telco service providers who own infrastructure to basically give them notice of work. 

“And that simple action has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of incidences that occur due to construction activities. So it’s a model now that we’re encouraging other states to adopt.”

On the quality of service that  Nigerians are getting from telecoms service providers, he said,  “We’re still not where we want to be, but are we satisfied as a regulator? I would say within the context for which we operate, I think the area of satisfaction is the fact that we’re beginning to see the right signals.

“So, the quality of experience, as indicated by our independent crowdsource data, this is data being supplied by users all around the country. We’re seeing improvements rather than services degrading. But at the same time, we’re also seeing a rise in consumption. 

“So you’re getting better service, and you want to use more of it. We just have to be a little bit more patient. But the good news (because of all the measures we took to address sustainability concerns), is that the investments which we saw last year, of just over a billion dollars, are being sustained. 

“And the numbers in terms of the work done also support this. So, last year, we saw just under 3,000 sites being upgraded and introduced for coverage and capacity. But this year they have committed to upgrading and introducing sites, which in total are about 12,000.”

According to him, they have done just under about 2,800 in total, adding that this cuts across the three major operators–Airtel, Globalcom, and MTN, involving a combination of new sites.

He explained that sites have been upgraded from slower technologies– 2G, 3G to 4G and 5G.

“We’re not where we should be, but we’re moving in the right direction. There are still some issues which we are seeing around the actual quality of experience in the areas of latency and jitter. In terms of average speeds, things are getting better,” Maina explained.

On why the commission compelled the MNOs to compensate subscribers, he said, “NCC took this approach because we felt that the approach whereby we simply find the operators and government collect the money, perhaps we should find a way whereby those who actually suffer the poor service also get back some value.

“This is going to be something that is going to be ongoing.”

In his remarks, the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, (ECSM), Rimini Makama, said, “This quarterly interaction is being held precisely because we believe that a well-informed press produces a well informed public, and a well-informed public is one of the strongest tools we have for driving real progress in the telecom sector.”

Earlier in her welcome address, the Director Public Affairs, NCC, Nnena Ukoha, said her expectation was to see the utilisation of the platform constructively for open and frank conversations, sharing insights on the emerging trends in the telecommunications industry, while also offering thoughtful perspectives on how best to entrench sustainability and resilience across the sector.