The Lagos state government has insisted that it will not extend a December 31 deadline given to owners to take down old telecommunications masts.

As such, the owners are planned to be forced to replace the obsolete structures with new ones.

Addressing journalists on the issues, state government officials said owners of such masts have not showed any efforts towards complying with the deadline, despite a series of warnings authorities have issued.

Speaking on behalf of the state government, the general manager of the Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit, Joe Igbokwe, said as soon as the deadline elapsed, agents of the state plan to move in to pull down the masts.

Such masts have been identified, and according to him, they are a safety risk.

Telecommunication firms, banks, internet service providers, insurance companies, oil companies, and many other firms own these masts, he said.

Igbokwe said the state had carried out integrity tests on selected sites and discovered that most of these masts “could not stand the test of time.”

He regretted that other mast owners were still “dragging their feet.”

“We have been speaking to them since last year, but we have not seen any serious commitment from them,” said the official.

He warned that the deadline would not be extended since the state government had not seen any practical commitment from owners of the mast.

The Lagos state government has backed down on its hard stance on telecommunication infrastructure regulations, which included multiple taxation and high fees for granting the right of way.