Senate Approves N287bn 2025 Budget For NCC, USPF

The Senate has approved N287 billion as 2025 budget of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

Of the sum, N15 billion is allocated USPF, a special intervention fund under the NCC aimed at expanding access to communication services across underserved and unserved communities, while N272.433 billion is for the NCC.

The passage followed the consideration and adoption of the Senate Committee on Communications report, chaired by Senator Ikra Bilbis, in plenary on Tuesday.

According to the report presented to the Senate, the USPF’s total projected revenue for the 2025 fiscal year is N15 billion, and its expenditures are also N15 billion.

The breakdown of the expenditure includes N10.9 billion earmarked for projects and programmes targeted at improving digital inclusion, N4.04 billion for the USPF secretariat’s recurrent expenses, and N53.96 million for capital expenditures.

“The Committee, having reviewed the budget documents and interacted with the Fund’s management, recommends that the Senate approve the sum of fifteen billion naira (N15,000,000,000) only for the operations of the USPF in the 2025 fiscal year,” Bilbis stated while presenting the report.

Speaking earlier in the year during the budget defence session, NCC’s Director, Financial Services, Mr. Yakubu Gontor, who handled the technical aspect of the budget defence, explained that out of the proposed N272.423 billion, N95.668 billion is for recurrent, N10.75 billion for capital and N40.93 billion for special projects.

The motion to adopt the recommendation was subsequently moved and approved without objection.