Chuks Okocha in Abuja

In a significant step towards advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has commended Governors in the country for their openness to engage the commission in the management of the digital economy

In a statement, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Director, Media and Strategic Communications, Yunusa Abdullahi, quoted Maida to have said, “The openness of the NGF to engage with us reflects a shared belief in the impact digital solutions can have on subnational development.”
Maida, emphasised the critical need for alignment between national and subnational digital infrastructure, describing it as a “game changer” for Nigeria’s digital economy.

According to the spokesman, a key focus of Maida’s address was the Right of Way (RoW) fees, currently set at N145 per linear meter, which he described as a significant burden on telecom companies.

Maida urged states to waive or reduce these fees to facilitate fibre optic deployment, stating, “The Right of Way is a critical element in opening up the digital economy, and this lies within the purview of the states.”

Echoing the call for collaboration, the NGF Director General, Mr. Abdulateef Shittu, highlighted the centrality of broadband and secure infrastructure to state development.

“Broadband and secure information infrastructure are no longer optional inputs to development,” he said.

He described them as foundational public goods. Shittu noted that while Nigeria has seen rapid growth in connectivity, national broadband penetration remains below the level needed for inclusive digital transformation.

To address this, he proposed four pragmatic areas for deepened partnership with the NCC: institutional alignment through State Broadband Coordinating Councils, policy harmonisation to standardise RoW rules, CNII resilience through state-level protection plans, and information sharing to enhance capacity building.

The Director General pointed to the World Bank’s SABER initiative as a model for success, citing states that have harmonised RoW fees, adopted coordinated trenching practices, and waived onerous fees to attract private investment.

“These policy choices have produced rapid increases in fibre kilometres and improved access to high-capacity networks,” he said, highlighting the socio-economic benefits, including improved productivity, job creation, and expanded access to education and health services.

Shittu and Maida emphasised the economic potential of enhanced connectivity, with Maida noting that that easing RoW barriers would enable telecom companies to create more value chains, benefiting citizens and increasing tax revenues for states.

Furthermore, Shittu said: “Expanded fibre coverage raises productivity, supports job creation, broadens access to education and health services, and enlarges the taxable base available to state governments.”

The NGF proposed leveraging the upcoming NCC Business Roundtable to convert commitments into concrete state-level pledges. “I further propose that the NGF and the NCC jointly convene a series of follow-up workshops to translate best practices from leading states into implementable toolkits for lagging ones,” the DG noted, advocating for measurable targets and clear timelines.

As Nigeria strives for universal, affordable, and resilient connectivity, the NCC-NGF partnership signals a collaborative path forward.

With states controlling critical administrative processes like land use and security, Shittu affirmed the NGF’s commitment, saying: “We will bring political will, coordination capacity, and the convening power of the governors to bear on this agenda.”

Maida, in turn, pledged the NCC’s technical leadership and regulatory clarity to ensure rapid and secure broadband expansion.
This landmark engagement sets the stage for a transformative push to bridge Nigeria’s digital divide, with both the NCC and NGF poised to drive measurable progress in the nation’s digital economy.

Both leaders spoke when a delegation of the NCC paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Secretariat in Abuja.

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