Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has called for urgent collaboration among Nigeria’s states and stakeholders to accelerate broadband connectivity and safeguard critical national infrastructure.

L-R: Director, Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Protection, Office of the National Security Advisers (ONSA), Enebong Effiom; Executive Governor, Katsina State, Dikko Radda and Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, during a business roundtable on broadband investment and critical national infrastructure protection hosted by the Commission in Abuja on Wednesday (October 8, 2025).

Speaking at a business roundtable held at the NCC Digital Economy Complex on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, the EVC emphasized broadband as a national imperative for economic growth, security, and digital inclusion under the theme, “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure – The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity.”

Dr. Maida began his remarks by underscoring the invaluable role of connectivity across industries, citing examples from Enugu’s industrial sector to security services relying on real-time data. “When connectivity fails, opportunities evaporate, productivity stalls—and in critical situations, lives can be put at risk,” he said.

He stressed that broadband today transcends faster downloads or video calls; it is the bedrock of economic inclusion and national resilience.

According to the EVC, Nigeria’s broadband penetration stood at approximately 48.81 percent as of August 2025, with over 140 million Nigerians online. Highlighting the sector’s contribution to GDP, he cited research indicating a 10 percent broadband increase could boost GDP by 1.38 percent in developing countries.

Expanding broadband access, Dr. Maida said, would multiply economic opportunities, enabling new jobs, services, and innovation hubs across Nigeria’s states.

He referenced Rwanda and India’s success stories, where coordinated investments in fiber infrastructure and digital governance transformed their economies into emerging digital powerhouses.

The EVC lauded the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Communications Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani for pursuing the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025) with ambitious targets of 70 percent broadband penetration and deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fiber backbone by year-end.

To this end, the NCC has translated these goals into strategic actions despite operational challenges.

Among the NCC’s key initiatives, Dr. Maida highlighted the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Presidential Order signed in June 2024, which empowers law enforcement agencies to combat vandalism, theft, and denial of service attacks on telecom infrastructure.

The Commission, working closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has operationalized this order through a Telecommunications Industry Working Group focused on site security, maintenance, and access control.

Complemented by public awareness campaigns and collaboration with judicial and security institutions, this effort has led to the dismantling of major vandalism cartels over the past two years.

Addressing the historic challenge of high Right of Way (RoW) fees—levied variably by states and often hindering fiber rollout—the EVC disclosed successes in advocacy resulting in five additional states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara) waiving these fees, bringing the total to eleven states without RoW charges.

Seventeen other states have capped fees at the Nigerian Governors Forum benchmark of N145 per linear meter. Dr. Maida underscored ongoing efforts to achieve uniform, predictable RoW regimes nationwide, coupled with “dig-once” coordination with public works to share ducts and plans, cutting fiber damage and civil works costs.

The NCC further strengthened investor confidence by approving cost-reflective and competitive tariff rates earlier this year, prompting operators’ collective commitment of over $1 billion in broadband rollout investments across Nigeria.

To enhance market openness, the Commission has commissioned a wholesale fiber study to facilitate backbone sharing between owners and Internet Service Providers, unlocking last-mile expansion and faster backhaul.

On transparency, the Commission expanded performance disclosures, including outage reporting, quality of service dashboards, and compliance metrics to drive accountability.

Despite these achievements, the EVC highlighted continuing challenges: from January to August 2025, Nigeria recorded 19,384 fiber cut incidents, 3,241 equipment thefts, and over 19,000 cases of denied access to telecom sites, causing prolonged outages and increased security costs.

Further obstacles include fragmented and unpredictable RoW regimes, weak coordination with road authorities, energy supply volatility, multiple taxation, and bureaucratic permitting processes.

Dr. Maida warned of the urgency, citing the accelerating global digital race driven by artificial intelligence and outsourcing movements favoring low-cost, high-connectivity environments. “If our broadband backbone is weak, our youth will be marginalized, and our economy will likely not achieve its full potential,” he said, underscoring that communities without digital connectivity today are essentially invisible.

The EVC urged governors and state authorities to partner in enforcing telecom infrastructure as critical assets; adopt 100 percent RoW waivers or at minimum NGF benchmarks with clear timelines; institutionalize coordination between public works and operators; embrace transparency in fees and processes; establish state digital infrastructure funds to attract private fiber investment; and support energy resilience through hybrid and solar power at telecom sites.

Looking ahead, Dr. Maida announced two major NCC initiatives to be launched the next day: an Ease of Doing Business Portal offering a one-stop-shop for all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index (NDCI), a framework to annually measure and publish states’ digital readiness and competitiveness to enhance accountability and drive improvements.

He concluded with a powerful call to action: “The digital revolution does not wait. Let us align, invest, and protect, for the prosperity of our people and the future of our nation.” He left the audience with one final question, “Will we align—or be left behind?”

This roundtable marks a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s journey toward a digitally inclusive and economically robust future, positioning broadband connectivity and its protection as strategic national imperatives.