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The Federal Government has opened access to 250,000 free business name registrations for eligible entrepreneurs across Nigeria as part of efforts to support the growth and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The initiative, approved under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is designed to ease the cost of formalising small businesses and encourage more entrepreneurs to register their businesses.

Interested and eligible entrepreneurs have been advised to apply through the official SMEDAN portal at portal.smedan.gov.ng to become beneficiaries of the programme.

The registration is completely free, with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) expected to process the business name registration without charging applicants.

The government also warned entrepreneurs to be wary of fraudsters who may attempt to exploit the programme.

Applicants have been advised not to pay anyone claiming to have the ability to fast-track or secure their registration, as no payment is required for the approved free registration.

Entrepreneurs seeking to benefit from the initiative are therefore encouraged to use only the official SMEDAN portal and avoid sharing payments or personal information with unauthorised agents.

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cut incidents were recorded across the country in the first six months of 2026, with road construction, excavation and related civil works identified among the major causes.

The Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed this on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables during road construction, excavation and other activities in Nigeria.

Maida said the high number of incidents required stronger collaboration between telecommunications operators, road contractors, government agencies, regulators and security institutions to prevent further damage to critical telecommunications infrastructure.

According to him, many of the incidents occurred because of inadequate coordination among stakeholders involved in road and other construction activities. He said the consequences of fibre cuts extended beyond the immediate physical damage to cables, stressing that they could disrupt essential services and affect millions of Nigerians.

The NCC boss recalled the nationwide telecommunications disruption in February 2024, when fibre cuts, including those caused by road construction, affected one of the major telecommunications operators. He said millions of subscribers were unable to make calls, send messages or access the internet for several hours, while subscribers who moved to alternative networks caused congestion on those networks.

According to him, the incident demonstrated how damage to one network could quickly have wider national consequences.

“In the first six months of this year alone, more than 5,000 fibre cut incidents were reported from road excavation, construction, and related civil work. A damaged fibre cable is therefore not simply a cost to an operator, it is a cost to Nigerians and to the wider economy.

“Those affected were not numbers in an incident report. They were parents, businesses, workers, and citizens cut off from people and services on which they depended on,” Maida said.

He stressed that preventing fibre cuts should be prioritised rather than waiting to repair damaged infrastructure after incidents had occurred.

Maida said telecommunications operators must provide accurate information on the location of their infrastructure and respond promptly when contacted before construction begins. He added that contractors must check for underground infrastructure before excavation and make adequate plans for its protection.

The NCC chief also urged regulators and security agencies to provide guidance and ensure accountability, stressing that coordination should form part of the design and execution of every relevant infrastructure project.

He said the commission remained committed to working with public and private stakeholders to make coordination a standard practice in road construction and other civil works.

Earlier, the Director of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Protection in the Office of the National Security Adviser, AVM Effiong Ewa, said the protection of fibre-optic infrastructure was a shared national responsibility.

Ewa noted that telecommunications infrastructure had been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, warning that negligence or interference that exposed the assets to damage could constitute an offence under Nigeria’s legal framework.

He called for strict adherence to established protocols, guidelines and procedures during construction and maintenance activities.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Rafiu Adeladan, said the ministry recognised that road and telecommunications infrastructure often operated within the same physical space.

He said excavation, grading, reconstruction, utility relocation and other road activities could inadvertently damage vital fibre-optic infrastructure where adequate coordination and precautions were not in place.

Adeladan called for stronger mechanisms for coordination and information sharing before and during road construction activities. He said road contractors, consultants and relevant agencies should have access to accurate information on the location of telecommunications infrastructure before excavation begins.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Engr Nadungu Gagare, said protecting telecommunications infrastructure was not the responsibility of one institution, but required collaboration among government ministries, regulators, security agencies, construction companies, utility providers and other stakeholders.

Gagare said the Federal Government had established a tripartite standing committee on the protection of fibre-optic infrastructure to strengthen collaboration and promote a coordinated approach to infrastructure protection.

He said the committee would also promote compliance with established standards and right-of-way regulations, improve information sharing and support measures to prevent avoidable damage.

The workshop, organised by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works, NCC, Office of the National Security Adviser and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, is aimed at developing practical measures to protect fibre-optic cables during road construction and other civil works.

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Nigerians have tackled the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, over his recent comment about critics of economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

DAILY POST reports that in a viral video, Adedeji questioned critics of Tinubu’s economic reforms about what they would have done differently.

“That is what I get worried about when I listen to some people about the economy and everything.

“Just ask them, what would they do differently? Mr President, I don’t want you to wonder. You have elevated the system from what they know and wonder,” Adedeji told President Tinubu.

Adedeji’s comment triggered reactions from Nigerians on X.

Reacting, a development professional and former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, described Adedeji’s comment as insensitive.

“If true, this is a deeply insensitive statement.

“But to answer the question of what I would have done differently, I can just look at the UK’s Andy Burnham, who is trying to tackle the cost of living.

“In just 19 days, he has removed the 5 percent VAT on domestic electricity (it is 7.5 percent in Nigeria); capped bus fares at £2 per ride by reimbursing private sector operators for the difference in real costs; pledged a 20 percent cut in business rates for pubs and clubs (an important part of British social life); maintained and adjusted Universal Credit to favour the poorest and most vulnerable.

“So, I would have used the increasing tax revenue to tackle the cost of living. That is what I would have done differently at my own level. Hope that helps,” he said on X on Saturday.

Similarly, a lawyer known, Vena Ikem wrote on X: “He should ask himself what all the millions of dollars he is spending mean to the tax he is collecting even from poor people. If karma truly fulfils, this man will get his just deserts in the land of the living. This arrogance is from getting away with stealing tax money.”

Also, Adekunle Oderinde wrote on X: “The entire convoy of Zacch Adedeji is more expensive and longer than the convoy of UK Prime Minister, yet he is talking about suffering Nigerians complaining about the effects of the policies of his principal, President Tinubu, who drives an expensive and long convoy on scarce resources.”