Over 140 million Nigerians now have access to the internet, representing a broadband penetration rate of 48.81 percent as of August 2025. The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed this at the Business Roundtable on Improving Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Infrastructure, held at the NCC Digital Economy Complex on Wednesday in Abuja. He said that the ICT and telecommunications sector has remained one of the leading contributors to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), stressing that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration could drive about 1.38 per cent GDP growth in developing economies. He described broadband as the quiet enabler behind economic activity across every sector: from manufacturing and mining to education, health, and security, adding that in critical situations, loss of connectivity can even put lives at risk.
He said under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria is pursuing the ambitious targets of the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025), which aims to achieve 70 percent broadband penetration and deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic infrastructure nationwide. According to him, the NCC has translated this vision into concrete actions by promoting broadband expansion, strengthening regulations, and safeguarding telecom infrastructure through the implementation of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Presidential Order signed by President Tinubu in June 2024. He said the Order guarantees proactive protection of Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure by providing the executive backing for law enforcement agents to deal with vandalism, theft and denial of service to these assets.
Speaking further, Maida said, “Today, over 140 million Nigerians are connected to the internet. This achievement reflects not just access but empowerment. Millions of citizens now have the tools to learn, trade, create, and innovate. The challenge before us is to ensure that this number continues to grow while the quality and reliability of service improve. When we talk about connectivity, our minds go to faster downloads or smoother video calls. But the scope and impact extend far beyond these. Connectivity today equals economic inclusion, productivity, and national resilience. Our collective progress depends on how efficiently we can deliver and protect broadband connectivity. The more connected our people are, the more competitive our economy becomes.”
He said that in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the NCC has set up a Telecommunications Industry Working Group to ensure full operationalisation of the Presidential directive, adding that ONSA has successfully dismantled major cartels responsible for theft of telecom equipment across the country.
Maida also highlighted progress in reducing the cost of Right of Way (RoW) fees, one of the major barriers to broadband rollout, noting that five additional states, Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara, have waived RoW charges entirely. This, he said, brings the total number of states offering zero RoW fees to eleven, while seventeen others have capped it at the agreed N145 per metre. He added that the Commission’s recent approval of cost reflective and competitive tariff rates has strengthened investor confidence in the telecom industry, leading to a collective commitment by operators to invest over $1 billion in expanding broadband coverage and capacity nationwide.
Maida further disclosed that the NCC has commissioned a wholesale Fibre Study to make backbone infrastructure accessible to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on transparent and comparable terms, which he said will unlock last mile expansion and faster connectivity in rural areas. He said, “The Commission alongside ONSA is deepening collaboration with sub nationals and their institutions, as well as the judiciary, for deterrence and speedy prosecution. We are also promoting the dig once coordination with public works to cut avoidable fibre damage and lower civil works costs by sharing ducts and plans. Our goal is uniform, predictable Right of Way countrywide, paired with clear permitting SLAs,” he explained. Despite these milestones, he lamented the growing challenge of infrastructure vandalism, noting that between January and August 2025 alone, the country recorded 19,384 fibre cuts, 3,241 cases of equipment theft, and over 19,000 denials of access to telecom sites, describing infrastructure protection as central to Nigeria’s digital progress. Maida warned that time is not on Nigeria’s side, as global technological competition intensifies.
He said, “These disruptions have caused prolonged outages, revenue losses, increased security costs, and delayed service restoration. If we do not act decisively, our connectivity progress will be undermined by sabotage and neglect. Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries. Outsourcing is shifting to low cost, high connectivity environments. If our broadband backbone is weak, our youth will be marginalised, and our economy will likely not achieve its full potential.” Speaking on the way forward, he urged state governors to support telecom infrastructure protection, adopt full Right of Way waivers, and institutionalise coordination between road and public works agencies to prevent accidental fibre cuts. He also called on states to publish standardised timelines and fees, adopt single window permitting processes, and establish digital infrastructure funds to attract private investment into underserved areas. Maida revealed that the NCC will soon launch two major initiatives, which are the Ease of Doing Business Portal and the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index (NDCI), to measure and publish each state’s digital readiness and competitiveness annually. According to him, the Nigerian Communications Commission will continue to protect and expand Nigeria’s connectivity.
