Telecom
Digital Economy: NITDA Assures e-Business Industry Heads of Public Private Partnership
In line with the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has assured the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) of its commitment towards employing Public, Private Partnership (PPP) to facilitate a seamless integration towards achieving a digital Nigeria.
L-R: Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General of NITDA with Mr Adeyemi Atanda and DG NITDA, Chairman of Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) durin a familiarisation visit to NITDA’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of NITDA, made the assurance when he received team of CeBIH, led by their Chairman Mr Adeyemi Atanda on a familiarisation visit to NITDA’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
Abdullahi identified three things that drive digital economy as broad band penetration, digital Identity, and the payment system.
He explained that using digital devices to do financial transactions, makes work and life less stressful, increase productivity and creates opportunities to maximize time and energy.
He said, “NITDA is rebranding, its mission, vision, and core values have been changed recently to meet the present dynamics of world best standards, the Agency’s core values are People first; we exist to serve you, Innovation; we are disrupting conventionalism, quoting former Microsoft COO Bob Herbold, “disrupt your business before someone else does” and Professionalism; we want to put global best practices to use, we are setting standards for other Ministry, Departments, and Agency’s (MDAs) to follow.”
The DG further said, “Collaboration with CeBIH is critical, wet cannot do it alone, our mandate is so huge, so we are glad to partner with you to deliver service to Nigerians.
He added that NITDA is currently in collaboration with Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Inc., Mass Challenge, other private entities and government bodies like NNPC, CBN, etc to ensure 95% digital literacy by 2030.
While commending the CeBIH on its resolve to partner with NITDA, Abdullahi urged the team to adopt some of NITDA’s operating models.
He said, “to be innovative one must look outside the box. We challenge startups to come up with ideas that can resolve existing problems, you cannot allow someone to experiment in your life environment. Financial inclusion is key; therefore, it is important that we work together.
“There are several programs that we can partner on as identified in NITDA’s Strategic RoadMap and Action Plan (SRAP), there are 63 initiatives there” he said.
Advising on areas that NITDA and CeBIH can partner, he suggested that an innovation challenge can be organized with the Nigerian Tech and Innovation Ecosystem.
He also agreed that both organisations can collaborate on capacity building, cyber security and guaranteed that they would also be involved in the redraft of the 2007 NITDA Act bill.
“Our regulations are developmental, and we cannot be innovative within the confines of regulation.
“Our understanding of regulation is to unlock opportunities for you and protect consumers to create the enabling environment,” said the NITDA DG on the need for amendment of the 2007 NITDA Act bill.
According to the NITDA boss five main stakeholders were going to be engaged towards amendment of the bill, the higher institutions, the corporate organizations, the government, Venture Capital or Angel Investor and the Entrepreneur.
He mentioned areas where NITDA is currently engaging in capacity building especially with the use of mass open online courses platform, where so far 57,000 Nigerians have been trained and additional 6,625 individuals in 11 states across the nation, are currently being trained on productivity tool, digital content creation and digital marketing.
He said the new cyber security policy assigns certain roles to NITDA, one of which is setting standards and encouraging domestic solutions to cyber security challenges. This he believes is another area for partnership.
On his part, the Chairman Committee eBusiness Industry Heads, Mr Adeyemi Atanda while appreciating NITDA’s innovative contributions to a digital economy had identified key areas for collaboration on STEM boot camp program as facilitators to help enrich the curriculum, capacity building, cyber security, and being on board the stakeholder’s forum on the redraft of the NITDA Act Bill.
He maintained that innovation is the bedrock for all the things done in the banking sector, “we want these innovations to have a direct impact on the Nigerian economy”.
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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