Nigeria risks being left hehind in global digital race – NCC boss, Maida warns

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr Aminu Maida on Wednesday, delivered a clear ultimatum to state governments and national stakeholders:

Speaking at a high-level business roundtable on “Improving Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Infrastructure”, Dr Maida warned that without urgent, unified action to remove barriers to broadband expansion, Nigeria’s digital future and its youth could be locked out of the global economy.

“How much is an hour of connectivity worth?” Maida asked, opening his speech with a haunting hypothetical that linked broadband outages to economic collapse and even the loss of life.

“The digital revolution will not wait. Either we align, or we’ll be left behind,” he warned.

“From tech entrepreneurs in Lagos to geologists in Zamfara, connectivity, he said, is now the lifeblood of commerce, security, education, and national development.

“In today’s world, a community without digital connectivity is invisible,” Maida declared. “It is cut off from healthcare, markets, education, and opportunity.”

Despite achieving 48.81% broadband penetration and over 140 million internet users, Nigeria’s progress is hamstrung by infrastructure vandalism, Right-of-Way, RoW, extortion, multiple taxation, and sluggish state-level coordination.

In just eight months of 2025 alone, the NCC recorded: 19,384 fibre cuts, 3,241 telecom equipment thefts and 19,000-plus cases of access denial to telecom sites

“These are not just numbers. These are digital lifelines being severed,” Maida emphasized.

He reaffirmed the nation’s goal to hit 70% broadband penetration by the end of 2025 and deploy 90,000km of fibre-optic cable, but warned that progress depends on urgent cooperation from state governments.

Maida praised the 2024 Critical National Information Infrastructure, CNII Presidential Order, which empowered security forces to protect telecom infrastructure and prosecute vandals.

Working with the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, NCC has dismantled major sabotage cartels—but gaps remain, especially at the state level.

While 11 states have waived Right-of-Way charges and 17 more capped them at the recommended N145/meter, Maida lamented that “fragmented, unpredictable RoW regimes are still slowing rollout, inflating costs, and scaring off investment.”

In a move that signals private sector confidence, operators have pledged over $1 billion in new broadband infrastructure investments.

But Maida made it clear: these investments won’t materialize without a stable policy, lower deployment costs, and guaranteed infrastructure protection.

In a moment of direct confrontation, Maida told governors and state officials in the room, “You hold the levers. Waive RoW. Protect fibre. Fast-track permits. Or your states will stagnate while others prosper.”

He issued five sharp policy asks: 100% RoW waivers or benchmark compliance, Strict enforcement of telecom infrastructure protection, Coordination with public works to prevent fibre cuts, Transparent permitting and approval timelines, State-backed incentives to attract rural broadband investment.

Nigeria risks being left hehind in global digital race – NCC boss, Maida warns