Regulatory bottlenecks, vandalism threaten Nigeria’s digital expansion, says NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned that regulatory bottlenecks, high right of way charges, and infrastructure vandalism continue to pose serious threats to Nigeria’s digital expansion drive.

Aminu Maida, executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer of NCC, spoke in Abuja during a training programme organised by the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The programme, hosted at DBI headquarters in the Jabi district of Abuja and sponsored by the European Union (EU) under its global gateway initiative, aims to equip 31 participants drawn from 10 countries across Africa and Europe with critical fibre optic infrastructure skills.

Maida, represented by Sunday Abraham, NCC executive commissioner for technical services, linked ongoing capacity-building efforts to Nigeria’s broader goals of expanding broadband penetration, improving financial inclusion, and enhancing service delivery.

“Robust, well-regulated fibre optic infrastructure is the foundation for any digital transformation agenda,” he said.

The NCC CEO noted that under “Project BRIDGE”, the federal government aims to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables nationwide to improve connectivity across all 774 LGAs.

Despite this ambition, he said persistent challenges, particularly regulatory constraints and vandalism, continue to slow progress.

“To date, 13 states have waived right of way charges entirely… an action that is already attracting increased investment from operators,” he said.

He added that a 2024 presidential order designating telecom infrastructure as critical national information infrastructure is helping to strengthen asset protection.

David Daser, DBI president and CEO, described the programme as a strategic effort to build a future-ready workforce capable of driving broadband expansion and innovation.