Telecom
NITDA Inaugurates Regulatory Sandbox Team to Drive Digital Innovation
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has intensified efforts to foster a more enabling environment for innovation by inaugurating a Technical Working Group (TWG) aimed at strengthening regulatory collaboration and advancing a coordinated sandbox framework for Nigeria’s digital economy.
Group photograph of the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, represented by the Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Barrister Emmanuel Edet, with the newly inaugurated members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) for the National Regulatory Sandbox, at the Agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Barrister Emmanuel Edet, emphasised the critical need for stronger cross-agency cooperation to address structural regulatory challenges that often hinder the pace of innovation.
Inuwa noted that members of the Technical Working Group were deliberately selected based on their strategic institutional roles and capacity to contribute practical solutions tailored to the evolving realities of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
He explained that while regulatory agencies have legitimate and clearly defined mandates, the increasing complexity of digital technologies requires greater institutional alignment and collaboration to ensure regulatory frameworks support, rather than constrain, innovation.
“As government institutions, our core responsibility is to provide solutions to the challenges faced by Nigerians. The issue is not a lack of commitment, but a structural one. Regulators often operate in silos while implementing their mandates, and in today’s digital environment, that model presents significant limitations,” he said.
The NITDA Director General observed that the rapid expansion of the digital economy continues to outpace conventional regulatory systems, creating gaps that can inadvertently delay or obstruct the deployment of innovative solutions capable of improving livelihoods and driving national development.
To address these challenges, he said the Agency is championing a multi-agency regulatory framework designed to bring regulators together, foster understanding of overlapping mandates, and collectively develop adaptive mechanisms that create room for innovation while maintaining effective oversight.
Central to this strategy, Inuwa explained, is the adoption of regulatory sandboxes—controlled environments where innovators can test emerging technologies and solutions under the supervision and guidance of relevant regulatory authorities.
“Our guiding principle is that we learn by doing. Through these sandboxes, regulators can contribute to building safe spaces where innovation can be nurtured, tested, and scaled for the benefit of Nigerians,” he added.
He further reassured stakeholders that the initiative is not intended to weaken or override any agency’s statutory powers, but rather to improve coordination and build a more responsive regulatory ecosystem capable of keeping pace with technological advancement.
According to him, stronger inter-agency collaboration is essential to ensuring that Nigeria remains competitive in the global digital economy and fully harnesses innovation as a driver of inclusive economic growth and national prosperity.
Inuwa expressed optimism that the Technical Working Group would serve as a strategic platform for shaping forward-looking regulatory solutions while advancing NITDA’s broader vision of repositioning the Agency as an ecosystem orchestrator committed to enabling digital transformation and sustainable national development.
Presenting an overview of the National Regulatory Sandbox, the National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Victoria Fabunmi, said the initiative is designed to provide a structured, legal, and multi-agency framework that enables innovators to test emerging technologies under regulatory supervision before obtaining full market approval.
According to her, despite rapid advancements across sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, fintech, health technology, and blockchain, innovators continue to face significant challenges due to siloed regulations, fragmented approval processes, and the absence of coordinated mechanisms for testing new technologies.
Fabunmi noted that while Nigeria’s digital economy continues to witness remarkable growth, the lack of harmonised regulatory engagement has often delayed innovation and increased uncertainty for startups and technology-driven enterprises.
Describing the National Regulatory Sandbox as more than just a digital platform, she explained that it is fundamentally a governance and legal framework aimed at creating an enabling environment where innovation can thrive responsibly.
Unlike traditional sandbox models often associated primarily with financial services regulation, Fabunmi said Nigeria’s approach is intentionally sector-agnostic, allowing regulators from multiple sectors—including agriculture, digital health, mobility, clean energy, and digital public infrastructure—to collaborate in supporting innovative solutions.
Under the framework, startups and innovators will be able to engage multiple regulators simultaneously within a controlled testing environment, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and significantly shortening time-to-market for emerging solutions.
She added that the sandbox will also generate shared, evidence-based regulatory insights, enabling participating agencies to make informed decisions collectively and develop adaptive policies that support responsible innovation.
The inauguration of the Technical Working Group marks another significant step in NITDA’s efforts to build a more agile, collaborative, and innovation-friendly regulatory environment—one that aligns with Nigeria’s broader ambition of becoming a leading digital economy in Africa.
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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