FG urged to wade into NCC/NESREA conflict

L-R: Financial Secretary Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, (ALTON),Mr. Tom Iwueze, Chairman ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adeboye and Environmental  Compliance Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Babatunde Laniyan at press conference on the constant closure of base stations by NESRA. 

Telecommunications operators want the Federal Government to mandate the Minister of Communications Technology and the Minister of the Environment to resolve the conflicting roles of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESRA) over the regulation of base stations in the country.

The telecoms operators under the name: Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, (ALTON) made the appeal following the repeated closure of base stations across the country, which they said, have made difficult to deliver quality service to their customers.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the chairman of the ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo said that the action of NESRA in taking armed policemen to shut-down a base station that has been duly approved by the agency that is mandated by law to regulate the telecoms industry was an embarrassment to the Federal Government and the National assembly that made the laws that set up the NCC.

Describing the invasion by NESRA of several base stations in the country as a great economic loss to the nation and an act that is capable of undermining national security, he said that NESRA failed to follow the due process in the closure of the base stations.

According to him, the law setting up NESRA demands under the current circumstances to seek a court injunction saying that “these impulsive closures cause very serious negative impacts to Nigerians whose lives and livelihood increasingly depend on the 100 per cent availability of the telecoms networks and are particularly worrisome given current security challenges in the country”.

He noted that ALTON members have complied with laws regarding environmental safety stating that “the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as the sole statutory regulator of the telecoms industry has articulated and aggressively enforces regulations on the installation of masts, towers and other telecom facilities”.

Adebayo further said that if government should allow NESRA to continue with its disruptions in communications service caused by the increasing spate of interference with telecoms installations, it would amount to denying the Nigerian people the right to talk or communicate.

While the Federal Government to call NESRA to order, he said that the two ministers of the agencies concerned must be mandated by the government state the clear terms of their regulations concerning base stations.

According to him, the action of NESRA is more political rather than that of the interest of the environment saying that if government assists both agencies to define their roles and rules concerning regulating base stations it would save the nation the embarrassment that NESRA has caused the Nigerians.

He explained that: “NESREA has unlawfully sealed the base station sites of our members in Abuja, Enugu, Owerri, Ado Ekiti and Ibadan causing serious network outages and congestion.  When the NCC caused the site in Abuja to be unsealed in lawful exercise of its statutory powers, NESREA again unlawfully invaded the site with armed policemen, demobilized the site and caused loss of service to millions of individuals, businesses, law enforcement and security agents”.

Speaking further on the grave implication of NESRA action, Adebayo said that “some of these sites collocate over 6 separate operators and the activities of NESREA have severely impacted on the quality of service delivery to our esteemed subscribers who are affected on the respective networks”.

On how to further end the NESRA issue he suggested the establishment of one-stop shop (OSS) permitting model, which would coordinate and harmonise the relevant government ministries, departments and agencies in one location for the purpose of a singular permitting point for telecoms site-build operations.

He further said that there should be an amplification of the role of the NCC as the industry regulator, educational campaigns and capacity building for government ministries, departments and agencies involved concerned with telecoms activities and the passage of Critical National Infrastructure Law.

He also called on the government to protect the industry from unionisation by labour saying that the industry is too critical to be let to go the way of the textile industry.