The Federal Government has revealed that the recent tariff hike in the Nigerian telecom sector has raked in a massive investment valued at $1 billion to enhance broadband coverage and capacity in the country, despite initial concerns about the surge.
This was revealed by Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), during the opening of the Business Roundtable on Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Information Infrastructure, which the Commission hosted in Abuja on Wednesday.
Speaking on the theme “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure: The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity,” the NCC boss said, “In line with our economic regulatory mandate, earlier this year, the Commission approved the application of tariff rates that are both cost-reflective and competitive within the telecommunications industry.
Maida claimed that investor confidence in Nigeria’s telecom industry has been greatly bolstered by this calculated regulatory action. He said, “I can confirm that operators have committed to investing over $1 billion in additional rollout investments to expand broadband coverage and capacity nationwide.”
Speaking at the meeting as well, Minister of Finance Wale Edun stated that the government had implemented a coordinated stakeholder strategy to solve the issues of various taxes and inadequate infrastructure impeding the industry.
The Minister urged more private sector investment in the telecom sector, as represented by Dr. Ali Mohammed, Director, Home, Ministry of Finance.
He said, “This sector is virtually vulnerable, it is compact, and therefore we are calling for our local and international investors to come forward so that we can invest in this particular sector. The government alone cannot do it. We need the cooperation and collaboration of the private sector.
“Of course, problems have been identified regarding connectivity and broadband infrastructure development in Nigeria. These problems are quite numerous, but they are not something that we cannot solve; we have the problem of a weak framework, and we have too much taxation. “So there is a need for stakeholders to come together and deal with this particular problem.”
Speaking during the roundtable, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), and Abdulateef Shittu, the director general of the NGF, told the governors that they would assist the nation’s digital transformation. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is the governor of Kwara State.
“We fully support the national commitment to raise broadband penetration to 80% by 2027. Achieving this will require an additional 95,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable across Nigeria, which the Minister of Digital Economy has alluded to. This ambitious task calls for genuine collaboration among stakeholders gathered here today,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Advisor, “the NGF can play a pivotal role by fostering consistency and consensus among states, encouraging compliance through peer engagement, and aligning state policies with national broadband objectives.”
Represented by the Director of the National Assets and Infrastructure Protection Office of the National Security Adviser, AVM Enebong Effiom, the NSA said that the forum “can also facilitate dialogue on all regulated broadband concerns that hinder digital inclusion and infrastructure growth.”
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