Pantami Pledges To Curtail Telcos Challenges
By Pelumi Olaleye
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami said the ministry is working resolutely to curb some of the challenges faced by telecommunications and service providers in the country.
He made this known at the premiere of Airtel Touching Lives Season 5, which held in Lagos.
“We are aware of the challenges facing mobile network operators and I have been having discussions on how to resolve them, including the issue of critical national infrastructure and vandalization, among others. The Federal Government has been working to improve safety by directing security agencies to protect telecommunications infrastructure all over the country. Another issue we recently tackled is the issue of right of way, ROW as we addressed this during the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Chairman of the forum has assured me it has been resolved. ”,
The minister, who also commended Airtel for touching the lives of millions of Nigerians through its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, ‘Airtel Touching Lives, ‘ pledged his salary to the Airtel top up based on consistency of the telco, and heartfelt stories of the people, communities, families and underprivileged individuals who have benefited from the initiative.
He described Airtel as a company that innately cares about the well-being of Nigerians, spurring it to impact and render a helping hand to millions year after year, despite not being bound by the law to do so.
“Corporate Social Responsibility on this scale is not required by law in many nations around the world. It is not a hard law but there are socially conscious companies that truly feel it is part of their own law. While it is not enforceable, I think a company like Airtel coming up with this initiative and sustaining it is highly commendable.
“CSR goes a long way and I am also a beneficiary of it. I benefited from CSR as a Computer Science undergraduate in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi, where I was awarded a scholarship by a private organization”. Adding that one of the beauties of having wealth is being able to touch other people’s lives positively and “This is one investment that never fails anyone in life. Seeing Airtel doing this without expecting anything in return is a source of inspiration, not only for public officers in government but also to millions of Nigerians, ”he said.
