The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has appealed to market men and women across the country to report the activities of people vandalizing telecoms infrastructures to the commission or security operatives.
The commission believes that market men and women, who are often the closest to the communities where telecoms infrastructure are located, can play a crucial role in providing information that can help to prevent vandalism.
Vandalism of telecoms infrastructure is a serious issue that affects not only the telecoms industry but also the wider economy.
The NCC has taken several measures to address this issue, including working with security agencies to apprehend vandals, and implementing measures to protect telecoms infrastructure from vandalism.
READ ALSO: NCC backs Isa Pantami on exemption of telecoms sector from 5% tax
Overall, the NCC’s appeal to market men and women to report the activities of vandals is part of a broader effort to address the issue of telecoms infrastructure vandalism and ensure that Nigerians have access to reliable communication services.
The Commission noted that this is necessary to curb cases of vandalisation of critical telecommunications infrastructures across the country.
The commission made the disclosures during the third edition of the market consumer conversation organised by the NCC at Bodija market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday.
The event was attended by the Babaloja in General of Oyo state, Sumaila Aderemi Jimoh and Iyaloja of Bodija Market, Sikiratu Adebayo Tantolohun among others.
Head of the Consumer Affairs Bureau of NCC, Banji Ojo while speaking with journalists noted that members of the public among whom are traders and market leaders have a right to report vandals to the commission or security agencies.
READ ALSO: MTN Nigeria gets NCC approval to lease spectrum from NTEL
He said this will help to reduce cases of vandalisation across the country, noting that the commission has a right to protect the interest of the consumers at all times.
He said, “The Nigeria Police is the overall security agency in Nigeria, but we have a MoU as well with the NSCDC. If there is any vandal or vandalization you see, please report it to the police. Please, remember that the police know how to protect your interest.
“If you are scared, we have a platform that is for complaints alone. If you are scared, that platform is toll-free. If you can lodge your complaints through that, we will pick it and nobody will know your identity. That is the essence of some of these platforms.
“Market women and men, you are free to protect the infrastructure because, without the infrastructure, you cannot make that call you intend to make.
“What we are doing in NCC now is to take the empowerment of our consumers to the rural areas, starting with the markets although it is not a new thing. This particular conversation is called market conversation.
“We are talking about how to make use of your data. Not just to talk about it, we asked our people what their challenges are. Whatever it is, we have to find solutions to it”.