‘It’s affecting security operations’ — Sokoto asks FG to restore telco services

The Sokoto government has asked the federal government to restore telecommunication services in 14 LGAs of the state.

Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, said this on Saturday when he received the north-east governors forum (NEGF), represented by Babagana Zulum and Inuwa Yahaya, governors of Borno and Gombe, respectively.

The forum was on a condolence visit to Sokoto, following the recent attack on Goronyo market.

In September, the state had asked the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to shut down services in 14 LGAs as part of efforts to address insecurity — the request came days after the house of representatives asked the NCC to block telecommunication operations in three LGAs.

Muhammad Bello, spokesman to the governor, in a statement on Saturday, said the decision was taken after a recent meeting of the security council in the state.

“Following an enlarged security council meeting on the fallout of bandits’ attack on Goronyo market which claimed the lives of 43 people last week, Sokoto state government has formally written to the Federal Government to suspend the blockade of telecommunications services earlier imposed on 14 local government areas of the state,” the statement reads.

“According to Gov. Tambuwal, the call for the rescinding of the blockade became necessary in view of concerns expressed by security outfits in the state that the outage was affecting the smooth conduct of their works.

“He said the state government has already forwarded a letter to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to review the internet blockade.”

Meanwhile, the north-east governors donated N20 million to victims of the attack.