Lagos Appeals To Telecoms Operators On Mast Compliance

The Lagos State Government has appealed to telecoms operators, internet service providers, ISPs, banks and others to  adhere strictly to the state directives on mast regulation.

The General Manager, Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit, UFRU, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who made the appeal in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, said the appeal became necessary, following the delay on the part of most telecoms operators and other mast users in the state to comply with the government’s directives on mast regulation.

According to Igbokwe, “it has been more than a month since we made a formal request to telecoms operators, banks and other builders of masts and base stations in Lagos to furnish us with the number of their structures in Lagos and addresses to enable us carry out integrity test on them and keep a database for record purposes.”

He said after the first letter was written, there was a reminder letter on the same issue, but that majority of telecoms operators in the state, refused to acknowledge the letters. He however commended 21st Century, Mobitel, Multilinks and Lighting Networks for their compliance, but warned those that were yet to comply to do so within the next two weeks.

Banks that have complied with the directive, according to Igbokwe, included Standard Chartered, Wema Bank, FCMB, Finbank, Enterprise Bank, Keystone Bank, Bank of Industry, GTBank, Zenith Bank, Union Bank , Citibank, Stanbic IBTC, and Skye bank, while Ecobank had written, asking for more time to submit its data.

Igbokwe said that masts used by banks, ISPs and other masts users in the state, constituted the biggest threat to lives and property, since over 80 percent of the masts were either weak as a result of over age, or were totally defective and did not have landscape worthiness to continue to exist, hence the need for government to carry out integrity test on all installed masts and upcoming masts in the state, to ensure their fitness.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga