The Federal Government has explained recent telcos tariff hike as having brought in new investments of $1 billion that will be targeted at increased broadband coverage and capacity across Nigeria.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive, Dr. Aminu Maida, disclosed this when he declared open a Business Roundtable on Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Ensuring Critical National Information Infrastructure, Abuja on Wednesday.
During his presentation on the topic, “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure: The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity,” Maida outlined that the tariff increase, while being received with preliminary public unease, had further bolstered investor confidence in the Nigerian telecom sector.
“In line with our economic regulatory mandate, last year the Commission approved the implementation of cost-reflective and competitive tariff rates within the telecommunication sector,” he added. “I can confirm, however, that operators have collectively made a commitment to invest over $1 billion in incremental rollout investments aimed at expanding broadband coverage and capacity throughout the country.”
Finance Minister Wale Edun, represented by Dr. Ali Mohammed, Director (Home), Ministry of Finance, insisted that the federal government is working to solve the problems of multiple taxation and infrastructural decay that have bogged down the growth of the sector. He called for increased collaboration between the government and private investors to get the best out of the sector.
“This is a very sensitive sector, and we require the inputs of local and foreign investors. The government cannot do it alone,” Edun added. “We understand that there exist such issues as over-taxation and a weak regulatory environment, but these are manageable with joint efforts from all stakeholders.”
In his address, Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, through the NGF Director-General, Abdulateef Shittu, restated the governors’ resolve towards Nigeria’s digital development agenda.
We wholeheartedly endorse the plan to take broadband penetration up to 80% by 2027,” he added. “To get to there, the country needs to lay an additional 95,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable. It is a tall order that demands sincere cooperation from all concerned.”.
Also present was National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, represented by AVM Enebong Effiom, Director, National Assets and Infrastructure Protection Office, who underscored the NGF intervention in achieving policy consistency among states as the motive to spur broadband growth.
“The NGF can enable state consensus-building, enhance compliance through peer-to-peer influence, and synchronize state policy with national broadband goals,” Ribadu added. “It can be employed to bring parties together for discussion of resolution of regulatory issues hindering digital inclusion and infrastructure development.”
The roundtable brought to the fore the government’s resolve to position Nigeria’s telecom sector as a prime driver of economic growth, innovation, and digital inclusion.
