Telecom
Stakeholders Urge INEC to Partner NCC, Galaxy Backbone, Others to Improve Broadband Connectivity in Remote Areas
Stakeholders in information and communications technology have urged Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to work closely with the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Galaxy Backbone, NigComsat, and other private internet broadband providers to improve broadband connectivity and protect robust seamless network infrastructure across the country, as well extend reliable connectivity to remote areas.
This is part of the recommendations at the end of National Workshop on Election Infrastructure organised by the Centre for Cyberspace Studies, Nasarawa State University, held at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja.
The workshop which has the theme: Enriching the Values of Free, Fair, Inclusive, Credible and Transparent Elections was declared open by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Aliu Ibrahim Pantami.
In his speech, the Minister, who was the special guest of honour, commended the organisers for providing a strategic platform that will enhance stakeholder engagement to ensure that the digital provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 deliver the expected credible, free, fair, inclusive and transparent election in 2023.
The central objective of the Workshop was to avail stakeholders in the Nigerian electoral process an opportunity to brainstorm on the concerns, challenges, and desirable interventions needed to enhance effective preparations and delivery of successful 2023 National elections.
This is against the need to balance the benefits of digital transformation and the usual negative effects of cybercrime and cyberwarfare directed against election infrastructure. Among the dignitaries at the event were Professor Suleiman Bala Mohammed, Vice-Chancellor, Nasarawa State University; His Royal Highness, Dr David Wodi Tukura, the Aguma of Bassa Turunku Chiefdom in Nasarawa State.
Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, President DBI, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON); Prof. Yakubu Aliyu, a US-based Cybersecurity expert; Engr. Mohammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, of Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) and President NiRA; Dr Daniel Omofoman, Executive Director of African Electoral Integrity Initiative; DCP Uche Ifeanyi Henry, Director NPF-NCCC, Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, Force Headquarters. Others were representatives of the Chief Executive Officers of the Nigeria Communications Commission, Department of State Security Service, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Defence Space Administration (DSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The workshop which was conducted in a hybrid mode (in-person and virtual) had a total of 162 national and international participants and featured over thirty-five top-level resource persons from academia and industry across the globe.
The keynote address was delivered by a cybersecurity expert and pioneer Commandant of the EFCC Academy, His Royal Highness, Dr David Wodi Tukura, who is also the Aguma of Bassa Turunku Chiefdom in Nasarawa State.
Professor Tonnie Iredia, former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) delivered the lead paper which appraised the 2022 Electoral Act.
Other resource persons include Engr. Lucky Okehigbemen (Germany); Dr Uche M. Mbanaso, Executive Director, Centre for Cyberspace Studies, NSUK; Dr Kenneth Okereafor, and Dr Steven Bassey. Professors: Francisca Ogwurleka (University of Abuja), Emmanuel Dandaura (Executive Director, Institute of Strategic and Development Communication); Mohammed Ajiya; Yusuf Yakubu (USA).
In his welcome address, the Convener and Vice-Chancellor of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Suleiman Bala Mohammed thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, for the boldness to reform the Nigerian electoral process to include the use of digital resources like BVAS and IReV for the first time.
He noted that “Mr. President’s intention to entrench a legacy of credible, fair, free, inclusive and transparent election in 2023 is the highest demonstration of patriotism and statesmanship”. He stated that the Workshop was primarily conceived by the “Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), to support this noble vision of Mr. President”.
The VC also commended the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and his team, for their enthusiasm and resilience to wholesomely implement the Electoral Act 2022 without compromise.
Observations
At the end of the three-day event, the participants observed as follows:
- Currently, the nation is faced with the challenges of stable and reliable broadband internet connectivity across the country to support effective digital electoral processes;
- The interoperability challenges in synchronizing the IPv4 and the IPv6 networks remain unresolved;
iii. The cybersecurity posture of the nation has avoidable gaps, especially in the area of capacity building to create a pipeline of cybersecurity workforce that is very knowledgeable and skilled to enhance the protection of national cyberspace. Foreign interferences were raised especially, the potential for foreign supply chains to leverage on ‘vendor trust’ to infiltrate digital election infrastructure unnoticeably.
- Stakeholders are persuaded that owing to the expansive functions under its enabling Act, as amended, INEC is overstretched, hence unable to fully discharge its functions like effective voter education and control of election offences;
- The use of proprietary ICT products from vendors located in foreign countries as part of Nigerian election infrastructure increases the surface vulnerabilities that foreign adversaries may exploit to compromise the integrity of Nigerian elections;
- Stakeholders decry the non-utilization of the data being collected by statutory bodies like the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the National Population Commission (NPC) to evolve a seamless voter register. By her mandate, the NPC maintains a record of births and deaths so should know which citizen has come of voting age or is deceased.
Recommendations
Given the foregoing, the participants recommend the following:
- To ensure hitch-free elections, INEC should work closely with the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Galaxy Backbone, NigComsat, and other private internet broadband providers to improve broadband connectivity and protect robust seamless network infrastructure across the country, to extend reliable connectivity to remote areas;
- The NCC and NITDA should facilitate full implementation of IPv6 and ensure timely synchronization with IPv4 to enhance interoperability of digital infrastructure elements;
iii. The Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) currently in charge of Cybersecurity should designate some tertiary institutions as Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Cybersecurity to advance capacity building, research and development (R&D) as coordinated and measurable measures to improve national cybersecurity posture. This buttresses the urgent need for a pipeline of cybersecurity workforce that is very knowledgeable and skilled to enhance the protection of national cyberspace.
- Stakeholders recommend the streamlining of INEC functions into the following complimentary Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to allow INEC to focus on the conduct of elections: (a) Electoral Offences Commission to handle issues of electoral misconduct and crimes; (b) Digital Election Technology Infrastructure Commission to continuously research, design, develop and deploy homegrown digital election components to be used by INEC; (c) Voters Education and Awareness function currently under INEC should be transferred to the National Orientation Agency (NOA) which has more established structures for mass mobilization and education in all local governments areas in Nigeria. Separating these related duties in the management of Nigeria’s elections will improve efficiency and bequeath the nation a more reliable, effective, transparent and efficient electoral process.
- NITDA should be empowered to improve its local content development mandate to reduce the dependence on imported ICT products and solutions by INEC and mitigate possible foreign interferences in the nation’s digital space. NITDA can achieve this by using tertiary institutions for the domestication of Open Stack Architecture products and solutions to enhance the cybersecurity of products and solutions deployed to critical national infrastructure.
- On potential foreign interferences, there is the need for effective collaboration and synergy between the INEC Cybersecurity team, and security and law enforcement agencies in the area of cybersecurity intelligence sharing, vetting of foreign vendors, and protection of digital election infrastructure as critical national information infrastructure (CNII).
vii. Government should strengthen the NPC and NIMC (possibly merge the two organisations for effective citizens’ dada) database management systems, to produce more reliable citizens’ data which should feed the INEC voter register in the 2027 elections. Citizens that have attained the minimum voting age of 18 years could be automatically enrolled as voters, in the same way, that the database should be cleaned up regularly to deactivate deceased citizens seamlessly. This equally, will save huge costs in governance in the face of scarcity of funds.
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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