•Undersea fibre cables linking Europe to Nigeria pass through construction corridor – ALTON, ATCON

Barely 48 hours after Multichoice alerted subscribers to a three-day technical downtime, telecommunication companies have expressed concern over possible connectivity disruptions as construction advances on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

While the DStv and GOtv owner acknowledged the anticipated impact of the ongoing Lagos-Calabar construction project on their uplink facilities, telcos on Sunday expressed broader concerns emphasising the vital role of telecommunication service and the effect of possible anticipated technical disruption.

The Lagos-Calabar coastal highway corridor serves as a crucial landing point for multiple submarine cables connecting Nigeria to Europe

The cables, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS), MainOne, Glo1, ACE, and NCSCS, are vital for international communications and data transmission in the country.

The Federal Executive Council approved Phase One of the ambitious 700-km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project in February, entrusting the task to Hitech Construction Company Limited.

The highway project was designed to connect Lagos to Cross River, passing through the coastal states of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Edo Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom, before culminating in Cross River.

Meanwhile, the demolition of numerous properties and recreational centres in Lagos has been carried out to expedite the construction of the highway.

In light of the developments, telcos stressed the necessity of stakeholder consultations with the Ministry of Works to address potential risks and implement robust mitigation measures.

While dialogue with the Federal Government is yet to happen, telcos have warned Hitech Construction to exercise caution to prevent damage to critical national infrastructure.

Speaking with The PUNCH on Sunday, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, confirmed that the Ministry of Works had yet to engage the telcos on environmental impact assessment.

The ALTON chairman said the Ministry of Works, headed by David Umahi, had engaged some stakeholders but excluded the telecom operators.

“The Ministry of Works has not approached us, and I’m unsure if environmental impact assessments have been conducted. The route is crucial for the landing of numerous submarine cables, so caution is essential.

“Some members have reached out to them, urging caution. As the chairman of the industry, I can affirm that ALTON members were not consulted regarding the assessment of the undersea cable within that right of way,” he explained.

Adebayo revealed that some of its members had written to the works ministry on the matter over the need for a dialogue. He however said the body had yet to get any response.

He added that the Nigerian Communications Commission had been engaged to facilitate talks with the ministry.

“We’ve informed the Nigeria Communications Commission about this issue, and they are attempting to contact the Ministry of Works. However, I can confirm that neither we nor any of our members were contacted. This is on record. We were not included in the stakeholder consultations, and we’re concerned about the actions being taken.”

According to Adebayo, the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway corridor facilitates international traffic into the country, with so much risk involved if caution is not applied by the construction firm.

“There’s a significant risk involved, and I advise carefulness. Any destruction could lead to total disruption and severe economic consequences. Caution must be exercised to avoid damaging this critical economic infrastructure.”

In March, service disruption caused by cuts to the undersea cable supplying broadband Internet connectivity to Nigeria and countries in the West African sub-region forced many banks and other financial institutions, as well as telecom companies and allied firms, to scale down their operations.

Experts said the recent subsea cable cut, which disrupted connectivity in West Africa on March 14, 2024, could result in collective repair costs of about $8m for the four digital infrastructure companies affected.

The Chief Executive Officer of West Indian Ocean Cable Company, Chris Wood, said the four digital infrastructure companies affected could spend as much as $8m each to repair a single cable.

The affected cables include MainOne Cable, the West African Cable System, the African Coast to Europe submarine cable, and the SAT3 subsea cable systems.

Wood highlighted that each affected cable firm might need to allocate between $1m and $2m for the complete restoration of a single subsea cable, depending on the severity of the damage incurred.

The WIOCC CEO stated, “It is not a few $100,000. It is several millions of dollars, maybe $1m to $2m per cable, depending on how long it takes the ship to find the cable and repair it.

“Maybe slightly more than that. And those costs are borne by the cable owners themselves. It is a cost that we will factor into our businesses because these things do happen.

“I can’t say exact figures because it depends on the nature of the cuts and how long it takes to repair them, but when you look at the four systems together, it is several $1m.”

According to Wood, it will cost Africa $1bn to lay new cable that will connect from Europe, connecting multiple African countries, including Nigeria.

He noted that it would take at least 10 years to design the project and finish building, noting that the cost would be huge.

“So, it is not a simple thing to say, right? Let’s lay more cables because ultimately somebody has to pay that billion dollars, and eventually it is the end user. So, there has to be a commercial justification for spending that kind of money.

According to the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Tony Emoekpere, the ongoing construction work is yet to get close to the areas where the undersea cables and fibre cables are located.

However, he said it was crucial to recognise that all submarine cables to Lagos are situated along that coastal line.

“Discussions will ensure that the ongoing construction won’t affect them, with plans in place to prevent any disruption. Nobody will allow anything to happen without precautions.

“I spoke with someone this week who mentioned this. Concerns will naturally arise, and ongoing interactions will address them as the risk is significant. These are sensitive issues, and measures will be taken to ensure services aren’t disrupted along that line,” he added.

A few weeks ago, ALTON and ATCON jointly issued a statement expressing worries over wilful vandalism and theft as well as other challenges affecting the growth of the sector.

They requested the protection of assets and network infrastructure and urged the federal government to pass legislation that designates telecommunications infrastructure as critical national infrastructure.

Telecommunications infrastructure undoubtedly plays a pivotal role in national security and socioeconomic growth, especially as the country currently contends with multiple security challenges that require urgent and immediate actions in response to these threats.

“Attacks on cell towers, fibre optic cables, and other critical assets disrupt telecommunications services and result in significant financial losses for operators,” telcos lamented.

The telecom sector has been grappling with economic challenges that have significantly increased their operating costs, a situation that has dwindled appetite for investments.

Investment in the sector decreased by 70.5 per cent to $134m in 2023 from $456.8m in the corresponding year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Last week, the ALTON chairman mentioned that telcos were becoming reluctant to invest more in infrastructure as they continued to contend with a tough economic environment.

Adebayo stated, “If you don’t invest in a sector, you can’t talk about quality of service; you can’t talk about right pricing. The government must help, and the time is now.”

He drew a comparison with the energy sector, where a lack of investment in infrastructure had led to decrepit substations and outdated transformers, some of which are 25–30 years old.

“When the people in the energy sector came, they licenced the DisCos; they sold them those companies and all of that, and everybody thought that would solve the problem. The answer is ‘no’ because when the DisCos came, they didn’t invest in infrastructure.

“We don’t want to come to a time where the telecom sector becomes like that. We need to continue to put the right policies and regulations in place to attract investment. It is only when we attract investment that we can demand a minimum level of performance,” he emphasised.

No fewer than 13 lives, 130 vehicles and an unspecified number of houses have been destroyed in separate gas tanker explosions that occurred in Rivers, Osun and Delta States in the last seven days.

DAILY POST reports that tanker explosions have been consistent in the country, leading to loss of several lives and properties.

The recent occurrences have raised concerns amongst stakeholders who are calling for a better method of transporting all petroleum products across the country.

Recall that on Friday last week, April 27, a tanker conveying Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, burnt motorists and commuters beyond recognition and destroyed at least 120 vehicles in Rivers State.

Five unlucky persons, including a pregnant woman, were killed in the unfortunate incident.

The incident occurred between the Indorama Petro-Chemical Company Gate and the Aleto Bridge on the popular and ever busy Eleme section of the East-West Road now undergoing major reconstruction by the Federal Government.

Barely 12 hours after the Rivers incident, a gas tanker exploded in Ita-Osin, Abeokuta, Ogun State on Saturday, April 29, killing one person, while about five others were seriously injured.

The incident which also left five vehicles burnt, occurred following a suspected brake failure, after which the tanker rammed into the road culvert and went up in flames.

According to the spokesperson of the Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, the deceased was suspected to be the motorboy of the gas-laden tanker.

On Friday, May 4, about eight persons were killed in a petroleum tanker explosion at Ometan-Okpe community along the Effurun-Sapele Road in Okpe local government area of Delta State.

DAILY POST gathered that a breastfeeding mother and her three-month-old baby were among the casualties.

It was learnt that the breastfeeding mother was burnt to death while trying to rescue her baby who was trapped in the inferno.

Sources at the incident also disclosed that a 16-year-old secondary school girl and her mother who were trapped in their apartment also died in the fire incident.

DAILY POST gathered that the incident occurred on Friday when the ill-fated tanker coming from Effurun reportedly lost control while overtaking another truck a few metres away from the boundary bridge between Uvwie and Okpe Local Government Area.

According to eyewitnesses, the front part of the oil tanker suddenly detached from the rear compartment while on motion, leading to an explosion.

All buildings within the accident scene were razed. Some residents who were trapped in the building were also burnt to death.

Speaking with DAILY POST on Saturday, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Edafe Bright confirmed that about eight bodies were recovered from the incident scene.

He said, “The head of the tanker pulled off from the body of the truck, the vehicle fell and went up in flames, leading to the major accident that claimed those lives.

“About seven houses, five shops, including POS shops, were burnt down.

“Four vehicles, including car, truck were all destroyed by the inferno.”

Governors, FG move to end incessant gas explosions

The 36 governors under the aegis of Nigerian Governors Forum on April 28 said discussions were advancing among them and strategic federal agencies in the oil and gas industry in a bid to adopt safer methods of transportation of petroleum products across the country.

The forum’s Chairman, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq gave the hint at the Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt, when he visited to commiserate with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, over the incident.

AbdulRazaq said, “We also spoke with the Head of the Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency, and there will be a review of some laws.

“There will also be engagement between the Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency and state agencies in terms of ensuring health and safety on these issues.

“As you know, Nigeria relies a lot, virtually, on pipelines for the movement of petroleum products, and we need to strengthen regulations in that sector, and also emphasise on improving and expanding pipelines for the transportation of products as well.”

Similarly, the Federal Government vowed to stop granting licences to gas companies with no capacity to build pipelines for gas distribution.

This was communicated by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, when he visited Abeokuta for an on-the-spot assessment of the explosion at Ita Oshin.

According to the Minister, the development became imperative to discourage the transportation of compressed natural gas through the roads.

“I have directed the authority chief executive that for any further issuance of licence, the company should be competent enough to pipe it to their end users so that we are not exposed to this kind of danger any longer.

“As a ministry, we are looking at how we can reduce a lot of virtual conveyance of gas.

“That is why we are putting much in developing the gas pipeline infrastructure so that the transportation would not be virtual, but rather through the pipelines. This will reduce this kind of incident and take off the pressure on our roads”, he said.

Meanwhile a retired officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Danjuma Alkali told DAILY POST on Saturday that the best way to stop the ugly occurrence was to ban night travels.

According to him, most of the incidents occurred due to “inability of drivers to have enough rest at night”, stressing “the incidents either happened in the night or when the drivers were totally exhausted”.

According to him, if there was a piece of legislation declaring an outright ban on night travels, the FRSC would be in a position to curb vehicles, whether big or small, travelling at night.

“Even before the recent incidents, statistics had shown that most of the crashes happen at night.

“For instance, a driver will want to go to Lagos and he takes off from Ilorin or Lokoja by 5pm; does a person get to Lagos before it becomes very late?

“If the federal lawmakers can come up with a piece of legislation to ban night travel, that will assist both the law enforcement agencies and other citizens.

“Banning night travels will put an end to some of these issues we face as a country, including insecurity.

“The federal government, in its wisdom, created tanker parks all over the country so that when it is night, the drivers can pack and rest until the following day, yet, most of them still prefer travelling at night.

“Nigeria should discourage night journeys because when articulated vehicles, especially fuel tankers, break down at night, drivers of such vehicles tend to abandon them on the road without any sign of caution and this has caused several incidents,” he stated.

The Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has promised a review of the law punishing suicide attempts.

He gave the promise when he received a delegation from the Asido Foundation, a non-governmental organisation promoting mental health advocacy and reforms to improve awareness, reduce stigma and discrimination and empower persons with mental disorders and their families.

The AGF said health is one of the priority areas of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“The law is something we have to take a second look at, especially where it is established that the offenders are not in the right state of mind. What the offenders need is pity, treatment and love to rid society of this kind of situation. But whatever we do is not binding on the states. So, I will take the case to the Body of Attorneys General,” Fagbemi said.

He promised to take up the issues around the Mental Health Act with his colleagues in the Federal Ministry of Health.

Earlier, the founder of Asido, Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, sought the help of the AGF in reviewing the law sentencing people for attempted suicide and the implementation of the Mental Health Act signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2023.

Abdulmalik said medical evidence had shown that all over the world, 80-90 per cent of those who attempted suicide had a background of mental illness, especially depression.

“It is their sense of hopelessness that makes them get to the edge, where they think they are better off dying. In that situation, what they need is help and treatment, not punishment and incarceration. We know the workload is heavy for our judicial officers. We don’t want them overburdened with cases that should ordinarily go to hospitals,” he added.

The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday said the Nigerian Government was “solely expediting action on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway due to the business ties between President Bola Tinubu and Gilbert Chagoury, the owner of Hitech.”

Chagoury is the contractor responsible for the highway project.

Atiku said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract was granted in violation of procurement regulations. 

In a statement signed by his Media Aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku disclosed that the involvement of Tinubu’s son and his associates on the boards of companies belonging to Chagoury presents a clear conflict of interest.

Atiku also claimed that Tinubu’s son, Seyi, is a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries.

The former Vice President said instead of “enhancing the ease of doing business, the Tinubu government had allegedly demonstrated to the global community that his business endeavours and those of his family would consistently take precedence over national interests.”

Atiku claimed that the project being done with more than $13 billion was awarded without competitive bidding.

Atiku also claimed that the “so-called’ Badagry-Sokoto highway would be awarded similarly at an enormous cost to taxpayers purely because Tinubu had put his interest ahead of the Nigerian people.

Atiku said the demolition of tourist and recreational facilities and other properties within the Oniru corridor, including parts of Landmark, without ample notice, “is one of the reasons foreign direct investments continue to elude the country.”

He added that in more orderly environments, “establishments like Landmark would have been provided with a minimum of two years’ notice to facilitate proper planning.”