Economy
Over 5,000 fibre cuts recorded in six months – NCC
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.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate declined slightly to 15.39 per cent in August 2026, down from 15.43 per cent recorded in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index, CPI, report for August 2026 released on Tuesday.
The bureau said the CPI, which tracks changes in the prices of goods and services, rose to 146.3 points in August from 145.3 points in July, representing an increase of 1.0 point.
According to the report, the headline inflation rate dropped by 0.04 percentage points compared to the 15.43 per cent recorded in July. The figure was also considerably lower than the 23.14 per cent posted in August 2025.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation slowed to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.
“This means that in August 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in July 2026,” the bureau stated.
The NBS further reported that the average CPI for the 12 months ending August 2026 rose by 16.30 per cent compared with the average recorded in the preceding 12-month period.
It noted that this represented a decline of 12.02 percentage from the 28.32 per cent recorded in August 2025.
The report showed that urban inflation stood at 15.88 per cent year-on-year in August, while month-on-month urban inflation fell sharply to 0.28 per cent from 1.90 per cent in July.
The 12-month average urban inflation rate was put at 16.28 per cent, compared with 29.73 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
For rural areas, the bureau reported a year-on-year inflation rate of 14.23 per cent in August.
However, rural month-on-month inflation rose to 1.79 per cent from 0.78 per cent recorded in July.
The 12-month average rural inflation rate stood at 16.02 per cent in August, lower than the 26.47 per cent recorded a year earlier.
The NBS also reported a moderation in food inflation, which declined to 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August, compared with 25.30 per cent in August 2025.
Month-on-month food inflation also dropped significantly to 1.02 per cent in August from 5.56 per cent recorded in July.
According to the bureau, the easing in food inflation reflected changes in the prices of commodities such as palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon, fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey meat.
The report indicated that while food prices continued to rise in August, the pace of increase was slower than what was recorded in July.
The launch of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE Initial Public Offering on Monday triggered a surge in demand that overwhelmed two popular Nigerian investment platforms, Bamboo and Cowrywise.
Both platforms reported unusually high traffic as retail investors rushed to subscribe to the offer, with some users unable to log into their accounts.
Bamboo announced the access difficulties on X, attributing them to the unexpected volume of traffic generated by investors seeking to participate in the Dangote IPO.
“Hey everyone, we’re getting a much higher than expected traffic trying to get into the Dangote IPO and it’s making it difficult for some users to log into the Bamboo app. We’re working on a fix and it will be up and running shortly,” the platform said.
Cowrywise also acknowledged increased traffic on its platform.
“We’re currently seeing more traffic than usual on the Cowrywise app. Our team is already on it and working to get things back to normal. Thanks for your patience, everyone,” it said in a post on X.
The two platforms are among the approved fintech channels through which investors can subscribe to the Dangote Refinery public offer.
The rush came as the offer opened to investors on Monday, with the public offer seeking to raise about N2.15tn through the sale of 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 each.
Investors can subscribe for a minimum of 10 shares, valued at N5,250, a structure designed to encourage broad participation by retail investors.
The Dangote Refinery IPO is one of the largest public share offerings in Africa. The refinery, owned by the Dangote Group, plans to use the proceeds to support expansion and increase its refining capacity.
The offer has generated significant interest among retail investors, following efforts to promote the opportunity as a means of allowing Nigerians and other African investors to own shares in one of the continent’s biggest industrial projects.
The surge in demand highlights the scale of interest in the offer while exposing the pressure that high-demand investment events can place on digital platforms.
The Securities and Exchange Commission had earlier warned investors against unauthorised promotions relating to a purported Dangote Refinery IPO before the formal offer received regulatory approval.
In June, the commission said no application for the IPO had been filed or approved at the time and directed capital market operators to stop accepting deposits or expressions of interest.
Following regulatory approval, the Dangote Refinery public offer was cleared to proceed, with the company publishing a list of approved banks, fintechs, mobile operators and NGX Invest through which investors can subscribe.
See Exchange Rate As Naira Gains 0.07%
The Black Market Dollar-to-Naira Exchange Rate for 14th September 2026 Can Be Accessed Below.
NOTE: The exchange rate changes hourly. It depends on the volume of dollars available and the Demand. This means…you can buy or sell 1 dollar at a certain rate, and the price can change (high or low) within hours.
The official naira black market exchange rate in Nigeria today, including the Black Market rates, Bureau De Change (BDC), and CBN rates.
The exchange rate fluctuates hourly based on the supply and demand of dollars in the market.
What’s the dollar to naira black market today, 14th September 2026?
The exchange rate for a dollar to naira at Lagos Parallel Market (Black Market) players sell a dollar for ₦1390 and buy at ₦1380 on Monday, 14th September, 2026, according to sources at Bureau De Change (BDC).
Please note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognize the parallel market (black market), as it has directed individuals who want to engage in Forex to approach their respective banks.
Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate Today
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) Black Market Exchange Rate Today
Selling Rate ₦1390
Buying Rate ₦1380
Dollar to Naira CBN Rate Today
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) CBN Rate Today
Highest Rate ₦1330
Lowest Rate ₦1326
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