His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Lagos State,

Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, S.A.N.

Members of the State Executive Council

State Commissioners

Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies

The General Manager of URFRU, Sir Joe Igbokwe (a Prince on both sides of the Niger)

My Colleagues from ALTON

Ladies and Gentlemen

Gentlemen of the Press

Your Excellency Sir,

We are the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria; the umbrella body of licensed providers of telecommunication services in Nigeria.

Sir, The major objective of our Association is to foster inter-network cooperation and industry harmony amongst all the Telecom operators with the Regulator, Government agencies, as well as provide a platform for industry/stakeholders engagement and collaboration, for the advancement of the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

We are committed to enhancing growth in the Nigerian ICT sector, and in the development of a modern Lagos, as we continue to work with your Government towards a “smarter” Lagos.

We identify with the developmental strides of the Lagos State Government under your able Leadership and we thank you most sincerely for the good work you are doing to ensure the safety and welfare as well as progress of Lagos State.

Sir, we are honored to be here, and we thank you for making time to meet with us. This visit is very important for us, and today, we have come in our full strength and number;

We are here to thank you and to solicit for your continuous support towards the good of our industry for the greater benefit of all, and the people of Lagos.

ALTON recognizes Lagos State’s unique position as the hub of Nigeria’s socio-economic development; and we want to re- assure Your Excellency of our unflinching commitment to provide the needed technological support towards a Smart City”.

Your Excellency Sir, due to our challenge of national infrastructure, we, as Network Operators in Nigeria are operating and maintaining four separate networks instead of one network. Namely:

• Our Core telecoms network
• A national transmission network
• Power Supply network
• Security and other ancillary Services

We commend Lagos State Government’s commitment to provide conducive environment for businesses. We particularly note Your Excellency’s efforts on the harmonization of taxes and charges, as well as the elimination of multiple taxation and regulation.

Sir, the pursuit of our respective objectives often create conflict with Lagos State Government functionaries, most notably, regarding the regulation of Urban Furniture, Permits & Rights-of -ways, compliance management, and et cetera.

As responsible corporate citizens of Lagos, we recognize that it is our duty to seek mutually beneficial solutions, in compliance with the Laws and Regulations governing our activities in Lagos State.

We therefore solicit the kind understanding and support of the Lagos State Government and the good people of Lagos, as we seek to deploy life-changing ICT infrastructure for the service of Lagos.

Your Excellency, The impediments militating against the immediate realization of these opportunities require our joint attention, and to address issues of common concern, we kindly requests the following:

1. The establishment of a Joint “Lagos State Government (LASG) – and Telecom Operators Working Group” consisting of key stakeholders from the Ministry of Physical Planning & Urban Development, Ministry of Science & Technology, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, as well as the Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit (UFRU).   

The Working Group will submit a report to your Excellency, and

2. Moratorium and Maintenance of Status Quo i.e.
   1. suspension of decommissioning of all sites currently in –build,
   2. Suspension of enforcement actions on all sites,
   3. Suspension of site closures,
   4. Suspension of payment increases and etc.)

Pending the Working Group’s Report.

We thank Your Excellency for the kind audience and we assure you and the good people of Lagos State of our unflinching commitment to provide the technological backbone needed for the attainment of your laudable growth objectives.

Once again, I take this opportunity to congratulate and commend you for all the good work you are doing in Lagos and I pray: May the Peace of Lagos continue in your time and beyond and also Pray that “May your Shadow.. Never Grow Less”.

EKO ‘O NI BAJE OO

Thank you and God Bless,

Engr. Gbenga Adebayo

ALTON Chairman

Lagos, 4^th April 2013