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According to Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, telecom infrastructure is crucial to the success of the elections in 2023, thus every Nigerian in every community should work together to defend it for the sake of the nation.
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Danbatta, who was a special guest at the 6th Edition of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) Annual Conference in Lagos over the weekend with attention on the upcoming election and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in attendance, said there was a need to ensure the fidelity of the transmission systems to enhance the effectiveness of the election.
“If telecom infrastructure is vandalized or damaged, it would create problems in the area of the data transmission during election; citizens will have trouble using their phones to seamlessly communicate, and journalists may also have trouble accessing their web platforms to disseminate the information that the public needs to make informed decisions at all times,” he said.
Theft of diesel, batteries, and power generators from telecom base stations; digging up and cutting of fiber optic cables by construction workers; indiscriminate sealing/locking-up of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) sites by state governments, other governmental and community stakeholders; and Danbatta recalled that these destabilizing situations have plagued the telecoms sector over time.
Danbatta reiterated the significance of telecommunications in all facets of human life, including the upcoming election and other national activities and programs, and stated that it will be challenging to conduct banking, insurance, or access government and other social services, including education, entertainment, and other crucial services that improve quality of life, without telecom infrastructure.
This indicates the significance of communication infrastructure, which we must all safeguard and protect now, during the upcoming elections, and going forward. Therefore, for the sake of everyone, every Nigerian citizen must assume responsibility for the protection of communication facilities, according to Danbatta.
He urged GOCOP members to work with the NCC to raise public awareness of the need to protect telecoms infrastructure by utilizing their respectable media platforms and impressive experiences.
Danbatta praised GOCOP members at the event, which was presided over by Dr. Umar Ardo, the founder of the Center for Alternative Policy Perspectives and Strategy (CAPPS), along with other notables like former Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase, Regional Director of the Ford Foundation Dr. Chidi Aniagolu-Okoye, and distinguished members of GOCOP, the majority of whom are senior media professionals.
In order to help Nigerians make educated decisions, he said, “The NCC would like to applaud the leadership and complete members of GOCOP for the good work you are doing in your professional practice of distributing timely and correct information to Nigerians.”
