August 8, 2025
Telecom services in the country might soon be disrupted if diesel business dispute between telecom tower managers, IHS, and the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria, NOGASA, is not nipped in the bud.
The dispute, is said to have arisen over allegation and call for thorough investigations by IHS that two member companies of NOGOSA misappropriated its diesel stock.
NOGOSA in a swift response said IHS was trying to diverte attention from it repeated breach of contracts and refusal to pay for accurate stock supplied the tower managers by NOGOSA members.
The Association of Telecom Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, had cried out that over 16,000 of their base stations in Lagos, Kaduna and Delta states may soon shut down, as NUPENG and NOGOSA have blocked diesel access to IHS as a result of the looming crisis.
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The telcos which includes MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9Mobile have said the action could put millions of telecom and banking customers out of services.
The shut-down may also affect hospitals, educational institutions and other sectors whose services depend on telecommunications backbone in those states.
While ALTON, has described the development as sabotage and a threat to national security, NUPENG and NOGASA disagreed accusing the telecom associations of blackmail and asked them to pay for the diesel supplied.
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Meanwhile, the National Association of Telecom subscribers of Nigeria, NATCOMs, has called on the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani to sought the intervention of President Bola Tinubu for a speedy resolution to avoid disruption of telecommunications services.
Amidst the crisis, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has raised alarm over insistent attacks on telecommunications infrastructure, stating that Nigeria currently recorded an average of 1,100 fibre optic cuts weekly, alongside 545 site access denials and nearly 100 incidents of theft.
ALTON, has in a statement by its Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, said industrial disputes are better resolved amicably through dialogue rather than brute force.
