Telecom
Stakeholders At BoICT Awards Canvass Use of ICT to Foster Sustainable Development
Opinion molders in the Nigerian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector have drummed up support for the use of ICT to stimulate sustainable development in our institutions.
They disclosed this at the just concluded Beacon of Information and Communication Technology awards (BoICT) held on Saturday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Delivering the first keynote address at the event, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Phd , DG / CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), represented by Hajiya Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, NITDA, stated that this year’s theme of “Leveraging ICT Value for building institutions” aligns well with the growing movement to use ICT to foster sustainable development in institutions.
He stated that our institutions and indeed our nation can experience a high level of sustainable development through the effective use of ICT.
In his words, “it is often said that data is the new oil and organizations can now use data to create wealth.
“Today, an average smartphone can have as many as 10 sensors. We have about 144million active mobile lines in Nigeria, a sizable portion of which are smartphones, potentially giving us access to large volumes of data.
“With Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics, such data can be translated into actionable insights for that would lead to sustainable development in the country.”
He encouraged captains of industries in the ICT sector to support ICT capacity building efforts both within their institutions and within the ICT Startup ecosystem, stressing that the future of the ICT industry depends on it.
The DG thanked the organizers for giving him the opportunity to deliver a keynote address of the 9th edition of the Beacon of ICT Awards.
Pantami noted that,” Over the years these Awards have celebrated the leading lights in the various spheres of the Nigerian ICT sector.
“They have also served as an inspiration to both the awardees and the general populace.
“I use this opportunity to salute the foresight and commitment of the organizers.” he said.
Femi Adeoti, MD / CEO Africa Operations- Inlaks Nigeria, who gave the second keynote address, said that Technology and Innovation will continue to be at the core of the operations of every Institution.
He added that, Mobile and digital payments technology is becoming increasingly significant, especially in the context of developing economies, where many low income households and microenterprises do not have ready access to financial services.
Adeoti stated that national identity management enabled by the biometrics technology serves as a foundation for the development of a country, noting that the use of biometrics have helped to strengthen the integrity of the country’s immigration and also help to prevent fraud during elections with the use of a National Identity Management System.
He noted that technology has not only made access to information easier but it has made learning easier.
He applauded MD of Systemspecs and his team for their role in ensuring that management Control Systems were created through the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
“If a country has a fragmented system for handling government payments through the banking system, it is a critical Public Financial Management weakness that needs to be addressed.
“The TSA provided unified structure of all government bank accounts enabling consolidation and optimum utilization of government cash resources.
“TSA helped the Nigerian Government get a stronger hold of its finances and reduced fraud.” he stated.
Earlier, Dr.Ernest Ndukwe, Chairman, Open Media Group, who was the chief host of the event, thanked Communications Week Media for sustaining the awards for the past 9 years.
He noted that sustenance of the awards is important because the industry is such an evolving one, that always have something new that comes on every now and then in the industry.
He added that Nigeria is not bereft of new terms and new products in the ICT sector, adding that it has being a very good destination for many innovations that have been coming out from time to time.
He said “recently we started hearing about blockchain, and now we have moved to internet of things which is still evolving and there are just so many things that keep coming up all aimed at making our lives easier and creating an environment that makes it possible for us to live our lives in a more digitally enabled way.
“So I like to congratulate CommunicationsWeek team for the good work they have done over the years and the resilience in ensuring that we gather here every year.
“I am sure this evening promises to be a good evening as it has always been in the past and I will like us to relax, feel free and enjoy ourselves.“ he added.
Also, Dr LeoStan Ekeh, Founder/Chairman, Zinox Group and Chairman of the event said that, the ICT sector is a sector that has manpower deficits and at the same time the most progressive sector in the world.
He further extolled Nigeria Communicationsweek media’s role in building the ICT sector through their insightful reportage of the industry, adding that the knowledge CommunicationsWeek disseminate every morning shows the power of the media.
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Dr Ekeh, eulogized and encouraged young men in the industry to stay focus; adding that technology is the new money.
He said, “I want to encourage our young men to stay focus, there is only one factory here, that must open, it does not matter who is in government in the next five years but the reality is that technology is new money, we can’t hide about it, but the young people need energy, I see them, they lack energy, they spend before they earn.
He added that his drive in the industry is as a result that things will turn around in the sector in the next few years; that he wants to watch it happen.
At least 43 million lines were disconnected from networks service providers for non compliance with the National Identification Number (NIN) SIM linkage policy of the federal government, report has revealed.
The number of teleocm subscriber in the country fell by 43.7 million subscribers from 216,974,742 in April 2024 to 172,948,309.
This effectively reduced teledensity from 100.09 per cent to 79.78 per cent.
Teledensity is calculated based on Nigerian Population Commission’s projected population figure of 216 million, according to the NCC.
A breakdown showed that Airtel subscribers dropped from 62,933,351 in April 2024 to 58,586,914 in April 2025.
Globacom witnessed a drop from 62,055,248 in April 2024 to 20,607,726 in April 2025.
The amount of customers lost by Globacom was 20,607,726 making it the biggest loser.
9Mobile subscribers dropped to 2,964,445 in April 2025 from 8,956,568 subscribers in April 2024.
However, MTN Nigeria Communications was the only teleocm company that survived the shock.
MTN saw a rise in its subscribers from 82,716,236 in April 2025 to 90,508,170 in April 2025.
Analysis showed that the 43.7 million subscribers’ loss was a result of the disconnection of unregistered lines.
“The removal of Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) that are not linked to verifiable National Identification Numbers (NINs) and the rectification of a major discrepancy by a Mobile Network Operator explain the significant drop in Nigeria’s telecoms subscriber base,” the regulator explained in the report.
In 2022, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy announced the NIN-SIM linkage policy was for national security and accuracy of the national SIM ownership database.
Subscribers whose lines were not associated with a verified NIN were advised to complete NIN verification to reactivate their lines.
After multiple deadlines for compliance, the NCC set a final deadline of September 14, 2024, for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to complete the linkage process.
IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of the IHS Towers group, announced on Thursday it has formed a strategic partnership with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to increase protection of critical telecoms infrastructure across Nigeria.
Under an MoU signed by both organizations, IHS Nigeria and the NSCDC plan to develop and implement strategies aimed at safeguarding IHS Nigeria’s assets and other telecoms infrastructure from theft and sabotage.
IHS Nigeria owns and operates over 16,000 towers in Nigeria and has deployed over 15,000km of fibre.
The NSCDC will aim to support IHS Nigeria for areas such as site surveillance, emergency responses and incident reporting.
That includes assisting in matters related to tower decommissioning as well as investigating, apprehending and prosecuting alleged site violators.
Mohamad Darwish, CEO, IHS Nigeria, said the collaboration with NSCDC was a key step to enhancing the resilience, reliability and availability of telecoms connectivity in Nigeria.
“By working closely with the NSCDC, which enforces the law that designates telecommunication towers as critical national information infrastructure, we aim to create a safer and more secure environment for our operations, including our infrastructure, and more importantly, ensure better quality of service for all users in Nigeria,” he said in a statement.
Vandalism and theft of fibre cables, backup batteries and other telecoms infrastructure has been a growing problem in Nigeria – so much so that Nigerian president Bola Tinubu declared telecoms infrastructure to be Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) via an executive order last year.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a fresh directive mandating telecom operators to compensate subscribers when major service outages last longer than 24 hours.
The commission also mandated telecom licensees in Nigeria to inform consumers of major service outages on their networks through media channels, stating the cause(s) of the service interruption, and the area(s) affected by the service interruption/outage, as well as the time that would be taken to restore service.
Consumers must also be informed one week in advance where operators have planned service outages.
This development, contained in the “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs),” is part of the Commission’s drive to ensure timely resolution of outages, enhance quality of experience for telecom consumers, and keep consumers informed.
According to the Directive, Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers and other operators that provide last mile services will also provide proportional compensation, including extension of validity, as may be applicable and in line with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations, where any major network outage continues for more than 24 hours.
It identifies three types of major outages to include: Any network operational condition such as fibre cut due to construction/access issues/theft & vandalism and force majeure that impacts five per cent or more of the affected operator’s subscriber base or five or more Local Government Areas (LGAs); having an occasion of unplanned outage of, or complete isolation of network resources in 100 or more sites or five per cent of the total number of sites (whichever is less) or 1 cluster that lasts for 30 minutes or more; and lastly, any form of outage that can degrade network quality in the top 10 states based on traffic volume as specified by the Commission from time to time.
In furtherance of this, the Commission has further directed that all Major Outages are to be reported by operators through the Commision’s Major Outage Reporting Portal, which is accessible to the public through the Commission’s website, www.ncc.gov.ng. The portal additionally discloses the identity of the culprit responsible for the disruption.
Commenting on the Directive and the Major Outage Reporting Portal, the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Engr. Edoyemi Ogor stated that, “The Commission has trialed the reporting process and portal with operators for some months now before issuing the directive.
“By providing consumers and stakeholders in the telecommunications industry with timely and transparent information on network outages, we are entrenching a culture of accountability and transparency. This approach also ensures that culprits are held responsible for sabotage to telecommunications infrastructure.
“This also aligns with our broader commitment to the effective implementation of the Executive Order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which designates telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). It reinforces the need to safeguard these assets, given their centrality to national security, economic stability, and the everyday lives of Nigerians,” Engr Edoyemi Ogor said.
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