SCM Staff Writer I Thursday, October 09, 2025
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a powerful call to action, warning that fragmented state policies and rampant infrastructure vandalism threaten to derail Nigeria’s ambitious digital economy goals.
Speaking at a business roundtable on October 8, 2025, NCC Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Dr. Aminu Maida, stressed that the nation’s youth and economy cannot afford to be marginalized by a weak broadband backbone.
“The digital revolution does not wait,” Dr. Maida stated, positioning data, broadband, and AI as the “new engines” of national prosperity, replacing steam, rail, and electrification.
The EVC revealed stark statistics underscoring the severity of infrastructure challenges: between January and August 2025, Nigeria recorded 19,384 fibre cut incidents, 3,241 cases of equipment theft, and over 19,000 cases of denial of access to telecom sites.
These disruptions, he argued, halt productivity and put lives at risk, making infrastructure protection a critical national mandate.
Despite this, the nation has made significant progress, achieving a broadband penetration rate of roughly 48.81% as of August 2025, providing internet access to over 140 million people. The economic potential of further growth is massive: research suggests a 10% increase in broadband penetration can drive approximately 1.38% GDP growth in developing economies.
A core focus of the EVC’s address was the need to resolve the long-standing issue of Right of Way (RoW) fees, which he called a “significant barrier” to broadband deployment.
The NCC’s intensified advocacy has yielded results, with five additional states—Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara—waiving RoW fees entirely within the last two years.
This brings the total number of zero-charge states to eleven, while 17 states have capped the fee at the Nigerian Governors Forum’s (NGF) benchmark of N145 per linear meter.
This policy alignment has already spurred tangible investment. Dr. Maida confirmed that following the NCC’s strategic regulatory intervention on tariff rates, operators have collectively committed to investing over $1 billion in additional rollout investments to expand broadband coverage and capacity nationwide.
To safeguard this investment, the NCC is leveraging the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Presidential Order, signed in June 2024. This order provides executive backing for law enforcement to proactively protect telecommunications infrastructure from vandalism and theft. The Commission, alongside the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has since dismantled major cartels responsible for equipment theft.
To further drive accountability and transparency among state governments, the NCC announced the imminent launch of two strategic tools:
The Ease of Doing Business Portal: A one-stop-shop for information and links to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index (NDCI): An annual framework to measure and publish each state’s digital readiness and competitiveness, effectively creating a public scorecard to drive accountability.
The EVC made a firm plea to state leaders to fully adopt 100% RoW waivers, institutionalize “dig-once” coordination with public works, and embrace transparency in permitting.
“Pipelines of oil are giving way to pipelines of fibre,” Dr. Maida asserted, framing the choice before state governors as one that determines the “prosperity or stagnation of your states.”
