Telecom
Stakeholders Urge Government to Put in Place Basic Infrastructures to Drive Digital Revolution
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) stakeholders have called on Federal Government to put in place basic infrastructures that will drive Digital Transformation in the country.
They made this call at the 9th edition of the eWorld Forum 2018, held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said that there cannot be meaningful digital transformation when basic infrastructure to drive the revolution are not in place.
He state that for Digital Transformation to be efficient there is need for deployment of infrastructure to enable speed of broadband delivery and quality of service while urging on government to provide legal framework that will enable businesses thrive.
According to him, “to aid digitization there is need for deployment of infrastructure to enable speed of broadband delivery and quality of service.
“Whilst businesses in eCommence; eHealth; eAgriculture and the rest may be coming up with better digital innovation, the issue is whether the current legal framework enables these businesses thrive?”
Adebayo who represented at the event by Eno Udoma-Eniang, Regulatory & Legal Committee Chairperson at ALTON, called on Government at each level to support the massive deployment of telecom infrastructure in their domain for efficient digital transformation of their day to day activities by looking at the long-term benefits of all the infrastructure in place for better service delivery to the citizen.
Adebayo noted that ALTON is committed to the smart cities initiative by which the States in Nigeria can all be transformed to digital operating States.
Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, in his presentation titled “Nigeria’s Readiness for Digital Transformation” said that digital transformation is hitting the world in a big way and no government or business can thrive without incorporating technology in its core strategy.
He noted that since the invention of computers and later the Internet, the world has been on the march towards total digital transformation, adding that every aspect of our lives is affected by this transformation.
He stated that Nigeria’s journey to digital transformation began with the liberalization of the telecom sector which ushered in the first Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) operator and the award of the first Digital Mobile License (DML) in 2001.
He also urged government at all level to develop strategic roadmap towards digital transformation, which should be developed with input from all stakeholders.
Muyiwa Ogungboye, Chief Executive Officer, Estream Networks, explained that the readiness of Nigeria as a country for Digital Transformation rest largely with all tiers of government and relevant government agencies be it at federal, state and local government.
He noted that although the country has concretized its readiness for Digital Transformation with the works of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) a lot still needs to be done in the drive to digitally transform the country.
Ogungboye also commended the government on the successes already recorded over the years in entrenching Digital Transformation in the country.
According to him,” Nigeria has since been ready for Digital Transformation with the establishment of NCC and NITDA, but there were challenges that have slowed down her speed of Digital Transformation.
“Before I mention some of the changes, allow me to mention some success that we have recorded over the years.
“At the federal government level, all payments now goes through a single treasury account called TSA via Remita Software from Systemspecs Nig Ltd.
“This move has made our government to realized billions of hiding monies.
“At the state level, most state government has installed various softwares that tracks the collection of various levies which has resulted to increased Internally Generated Funds.
“Another is Ghost workers has been reduced if not eliminated in some states.”
He also revealed that “At the private sector level, Nigeria has had an explosion of several Telecommunications and Software Companies that are adding value to the economy.”
He equally identified some challenges that is slowing down the country’s speed to Digital Transformation as “The will power of the Nigeria Government to implement Digital Transformation nationwide on whatever activities any citizen does.”
Other challenges he identified were Right of Way Issue, Multiple Taxation, levies and fees on the same existing infrastructure, Fragmented and limited distribution of fiber and telecom infrastructure to several areas of the country creating large swathes of un-served or under-served communities within States or Local Government Areas, Long delays in the issuance of permits for new infrastructure, Severe power challenges, Multiple agencies doing the same function.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that Nigeria’s internet usage reached a record 1.24 million terabytes in November 2025.
According to the latest data from the NCC, the figure rose modestly from 1.235 million terabytes in October, reflecting steady growth in digital activity across the country.
Broadband penetration in Nigeria crossed the halfway mark in November 2025, reaching 50.58 per cent, up from 45.61 per cent in January, the telecoms regulator reported.
The figure, however, falls short of the 70 per cent coverage target outlined in the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, which expires this month.
The country had roughly 109 million broadband subscriptions by November. Growth has been uneven, hindered by infrastructure and regulatory constraints, including frequent fibre-optic vandalism that triggers 30 to 43 network cuts daily, high right-of-way fees, and declining subscriber numbers earlier in the year.
Expansion of mobile networks, particularly 3G and 4G services, alongside limited 5G rollouts in urban centres, affordable smartphones, and competitive data plans, has driven uptake.
Investments in the National Communications Backbone and private-sector initiatives have also improved access, especially in underserved areas.
While Nigeria is gradually improving digital inclusion, achieving the original broadband plan remains challenging due to high infrastructure costs, coverage limitations, and deployment hurdles.
The NCC maintains that continued investment in mobile networks and broadband infrastructure will sustain gradual growth in the sector.
Commenting on the development, some Nigerian analysts attributed the surge to the broader mobile and broadband adoption and the growing appetite for streaming, online learning and other digital services.
According to the analysts, the figures suggest that internet connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity for both business and leisure, underscoring the slow but steady expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
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