FG Committed To Deepening Digital Infrastructure, Connectivity Nationwide – Minister

Minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, has assured that the federal government is committed to deepening digital infrastructure, inclusion and connectivity nationwide, stressing that this profound effort is driving national development especially in rural areas.

Tijani said during the inauguration of the Governing Board of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) under the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), adding that Nigeria has made a lot of investment in the digital sector to assist businesses and services with digitisation.

The minister said the current administration has made strategic investments, including the planned deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and about 4,000 telecommunications towers nationwide.

“Today, connectivity is almost ubiquitous, compared to the early days when even acquiring a SIM card was expensive. This reflects the progress we have made as a country,” he said.

According to him, such a scale of investment is unprecedented among developing countries, but acknowledged that millions of Nigerians, especially in rural and underserved communities, still lack adequate access to connectivity.

He said the USPF had played a critical role in bridging the access gap through initiatives such as deployment of telecom towers and establishment of computer laboratories in schools.

Tijani, however, said that there was a need for a shift in focus from mere access to ensuring meaningful use of digital infrastructure.

“It is not enough to connect communities; we must ensure that citizens derive value. Schools should be able to teach with digital tools, and small businesses must access broader markets,” he said.

He recalled a pilot project in Kura community near Abuja, where about 12,000 residents previously had no access to telephony services.

“Before now, farmers relied on intermediaries travelling to Abuja to connect with buyers. Today, they can communicate directly and transact more efficiently,” he said.

Tijani said that the project had also proven commercially viable, with increased daily internet usage and community-wide access to Wi-Fi.

The minister urged members of the governing board of the USPF to hit the ground running in carrying out their assignment, adding that there is much work to do to bridge the gaps in the country as attention had been focused on urban areas over the years at the detriment of the rural communities.

In his remarks, the executive vice-chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Aminu Maida, admonished the USPF Board to prioritise meaningful connectivity in efforts to bridge Nigeria’s digital divide.

“The work of USPF is really about closing gaps. Historically, the focus has been on access gaps, especially in areas where it is not commercially viable for mobile network operators to operate.

“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.

The NCC boss said the development placed a responsibility on the USPF board to intensify efforts at closing both access and usage gaps across the country even as he  acknowledged ongoing initiatives and stressed that infrastructure alone was not sufficient.