Tijani Confirms 49% of $2B Fibre Investment Mobilised for Broadband Expansion

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijjani, has announced that the Federal Government is mobilising 49% of the $2 billion fibre optic network investment project to boost broadband penetration and aid in the nation’s shift to a digital economy.

At a plenary conference which also happened to be one of the biggest independent owners and operators of shared telecommunications infrastructure in the world and hosted by IHS Towers, hosted a plenary session in Abuja where Tijjani made this revelation. As part of the ongoing 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in the Federal Capital Territory, the session was held.

Eleven states have declared zero right of way in less than two years, Tijjani said during his remarks at the current Nigeria Economic Summit.

He claims that the Federal Government’s role is to help close the country’s connectivity gap and create the backbone of infrastructure required for the country’s digital transformation.

“Investing in infrastructure, which the federal government is currently mobilising, is the biggest issue in the telecom sector because we require huge broadband infrastructure to drive telecoms growth,” he said.

The Minister stated: “It is implied that the design will encompass all states, local governments, and wards in Nigeria.” A fiber-optic network will therefore be present near your house no matter where you go. Nigeria will then observe that, even with fiber-based connectivity, mobile connectivity will no longer be used to view connectivity at home once we are able to do this.

The minister stated that “the biggest issue in the telecom sector is to invest in infrastructure, which the federal government is currently mobilising because we require huge broadband infrastructure to drive telecoms growth.”

He clarified that building fibre optic networks throughout Nigeria is essential to obtaining dependable and reasonably priced internet connectivity. “We must invest in fibre optic networks, which will cost roughly $2 billion, in order to provide connectivity for Nigerians.” The federal government decided to contribute 49% because no single company could raise that amount, and we want the private sector to contribute the remaining 51%’, Tijjani stated.

He also stated that every state and local government need to have a fibre optics network, and we believe we can deliver between three and four years,” he continued. “We realised that if we improve broadband connectivity by 10%, it will lead to growth by 2.5%.”

The Minister pointed out that increasing broadband connectivity will have a direct impact on economic expansion.

Eleven states have declared zero Right of Way (RoW) charges for the development of broadband infrastructure in less than two years, according to Tijjani, who called this action crucial for speeding up rollout and lowering operating costs for telecom operators.

The government’s general plan, he continued, includes using artificial intelligence (AI) to propel national development and establish Nigeria as a top location for technology investment.

Tijjani went on to reaffirm AI’s contribution to national development and mentioned that Nigeria has emerged as a telecom investment hotspot. At the Plenary Session on the topic of “Smart Growth, Digital Leap,” Mohamad Darwish, CEO of IHS Nigeria, shared his thoughts. He pointed out that in order to create a smart economy, Nigeria needs to reframe talent, innovation, and digital infrastructure as essential growth inputs and drivers rather than as ancillary areas.

He stated, “Therefore, we have called this plenary session at the 31st Economic Summit to draw attention to the infrastructure gaps that are affecting Nigeria’s economic competitiveness and digital growth, as well as the reasons behind them, and to identify regulatory reforms that are necessary to strengthen public-private partnerships that drive sustainable investment in infrastructure, innovation, and talent development.”