Telecommunications companies operating across Nigeria have warned that henceforth, they will abandon any cell site closed down by a State Government. This is against the backdrop of many state governments indiscriminately shutting down their towers over what the Telcos insist, are unapproved taxes and levies.
Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, said their resolution to abandon any closed cell site had become necessary following incessant shutting down of their towers since the beginning of this year.
ATCON said that by recklessly shutting down cell sites, state governments were displaying a grave lack of understanding of the fact that electronic communications play a role in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents. Shutting down mobile telephony in a locality, it added, negatively affects businesses and communications between individuals. Also, telephone traffic from a shut-down cell site could have been re-routed to other cell sites, leading to very poor network service resulting from heavy traffic. Furthermore, Adebayo said, the success of the 2019 general elections could be marred if this practice of indiscriminate shutdown continues.
Adebayo added that apart from Lagos State, where taxes have been harmonized, the other states duplicate taxes and levies in different names, making compliance very difficult. He lamented that at the slightest delay in payments, state tax regulatory agencies quickly resort to closing down some of their critical network facilities. He mentioned a scenario when a cell site was shut down in Taraba during the Christmas season. Some of the taxes they are required to pay are aviation clearance, site Inspection Fee, hawking permit, building permit, building fitness, sewage fees, fumigation, refuse collection and disposal, capitation fee, shop rate, generator fumes tax and many more. He alleged that Telcos a forced to pay as many as 38 different taxes and levies.
He, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take steps to ensure that telecommunications infrastructure is secure across the country in the same way as other critical national assets, suggesting that this could be done through the Cybercrime Act, 2015.
Meanwhile, in February 2018, the Association announced that it has sued the National Assembly over frequent and frivolous summons by various committees of the National Assembly over the same issues. It said that the constant invitation of their Chief Executive Officers and stakeholders affect their workflow and business operations.
Photo Credit: Guardian.ng
