General News
Telecom Boom: NCC Says Sector’s GDP Contribution Hit 8.12% as Growth Soars to 26.34%
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector contributed 8.12 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2025, reaffirming its position as one of the key drivers of economic growth, according to industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
NCC
The data showed that the sector’s contribution rose from 7.29 per cent in the corresponding period of 2024 under the rebased GDP framework, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.83 percentage points.
The telecommunications and information services sub-sector also recorded a real growth rate of 26.34 per cent in Q4 2025, compared with 17.97 per cent in Q4 2024, reflecting a significant acceleration in sector performance.
On a full-year basis, the sector accounted for 8.3 per cent of Nigeria’s real GDP in 2025, up from 8.1 per cent in 2024.
In nominal terms, the sector’s contribution to the economy increased from N17.2 trillion in 2024 to N18.5 trillion in 2025, representing a growth of N1.3 trillion.
The figures place telecommunications as the fourth-largest contributor to Nigeria’s real GDP, behind crop production, trade and real estate.
Industry analysts attributed the strong performance to increased investment in telecommunications infrastructure, expansion of broadband services, rising data consumption and wider deployment of fifth-generation (5G) technology.
According to the data, telecommunications operators added about 2,800 new towers during the year and invested more than one billion dollars in fibre-optic infrastructure and network upgrades.
The report also indicated that active telecom subscriptions rose from approximately 164.9 million in December 2024 to 179.6 million in December 2025, representing an increase of about 14.7 million subscribers.
Broadband penetration crossed the 50 per cent mark during the period, reaching 51.97 per cent compared with about 45 per cent recorded at the end of 2024.
Data consumption also increased significantly, with about 148 million internet users consuming approximately 1.4 million terabytes of data in December 2025 alone.
The NCC said the growth was further supported by ongoing investments in 4G and 5G networks, improved spectrum management and regulatory initiatives aimed at expanding digital connectivity across the country.
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Aminu Maida, recently stated that the commission was working towards increasing the telecommunications sector’s contribution to GDP to 25 per cent over time through supportive policies and infrastructure development.
“The sector has done well with its contribution to GDP, but it can do better. We are working on the right policies to push the contribution of the telecom sector to 25 per cent,” Maida said.
The report noted that telecommunications has become a critical enabler of financial services, e-commerce, digital government services and other sectors of the economy.
It added that sustained growth in broadband infrastructure and digital services was helping to create employment opportunities, improve productivity and expand access to digital platforms across urban and rural communities.
Despite the positive performance, industry stakeholders identified challenges such as high energy costs, foreign exchange pressures and infrastructure deployment constraints as factors that could affect future growth if not adequately addressed.
The NCC said it would continue to work with stakeholders to deepen broadband penetration, encourage investment and strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy.
Analysts believe that with continued infrastructure expansion, improved regulatory support and increasing adoption of digital technologies, the telecommunications sector is likely to remain one of the strongest contributors to Nigeria’s economic growth in the coming years.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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