Federal Government has been urged to prioritise the telecom sector in its foreign exchange allocation through the Central Bank of Nigeria and in the provision of adequate security for telephony infrastructure.

Government has also been asked to incentivise private sector investment in network expansion by addressing prohibitive right-of-way costs and multiple taxation.

These are according to a new report by research firm, SBM Intelligence, which also carpets the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, in his handling of some segments of the industry.

With the telecom sector facing fibre cuts, vandalism, theft, among others, the research called for the implementation of robust and enforceable mechanisms for protecting critical national information infrastructure (CNII), designating and empowering security agencies for enforcement and ensuring accountability for vandalism.

SBM recalled that there has been a rise in incidents of fibre optic cable cuts, equipment theft, and general vandalism.