Disruptions To The Supply Logistics Of Diesel To Cell Sites:It Is Time For Mr. President To Intervene-NATCOMS
By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief
Following the threat from members of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA), on Tuesday, which allegedly has led to blockage to access to diesel loading depots in Kaduna, north west, Lagos, south west and Koko (Delta State), south south, preventing the distribution of diesel to thousands of telecommunications sites operated by IHS Towers, the umbrella body of telecommunications consumers, under the auspices of the National Association of Telecommunications Consumers(NATCOMS) has joined its voice with that of other advocacy bodies to stave off what could potentially jeopardise the security situation as well as adversely affect the economy of the nation.
In NATCOMS estimation, the threat is real and calls on the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rein in on the Labour Unions to sheathe their swords in the interest of national security and wellbeing of the national economy. NATCOMS spoke exclusively to us, Friday afternoon, through its President, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo.
According to Chief Ogunbanjo, the ICT sector, to which telecommunications belonged, ranked next to oil and gas, in terms of its contribution to the gross national product(GDP). Therefore, he appealed to both NOGASA and NUPENG to vacate their threat and ensure uninterrupted supply of IHS, an infrastructure company(InfraCo) that serviced many telecommunications service providers in the country. IHS operates more than 16,000 base stations for Nigerian telcos.
“Both NOGASA and NUPENG should realize that cell sites and base stations are critical national information infrastructure (CNII) and do whatever is humanly possible to ensure their integrity and functionality,” Ogunbanjo pleaded.
Since the dispute between HIS and the unions are subjudice, the NATCOMS boss advised the unions to respect the law of the land and restore normal services to IHS until the final resolution of the case. “My take is that these unions should not intimidate HIS because it revealed the sharp practices of two of their members. We cannot wait. Security and safety are everybody’s business. Everything about telecommunications impinges on national security and the economy.
“We are appealing to Mr. President, through the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy(CIDE) Dr. Bosun Tijani to intervene without delay to forestall security breaches and further damage to an already bad economy,” he said.
NATCOMS insists businesses in the country are under heavy stress and cannot sustain another frustrating round of services disruption due to cessation of diesel supply to infracos.-With additional reporting by Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Bureau Chief, South West, Nigeria
