By Jessica Dogo
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, says an additional 20 million Nigerians will have access to the Internet as the Federal Government expands rural connectivity.
Tijani said this at the Flagship Nigeria Covening programme in partnership with Digital Access in Africa on Wednesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day programme is with the theme, “Closing Nigeria’s Usage Gap Through Affordable Devices and Digital Skills’’.
The minister said that Nigeria was the only country in Africa that was investing in additional 3,700 towers for digital infrastructure in rural areas, adding that it was critical to the country’s economic transformation agenda.
He said that the Federal Government was committed to deepening digital access and building the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy.
The minister said, “Nigeria is the only country that is investing in 90,000 kilometers of fiber-optic network which is led by the World Bank.
“We are the only country in Africa that is currently doing that but also investing in two communication satellites.
“The only country that is also investing in additional 3,700 towers for rural areas, which means we can now bring online about 20 million Nigerians that are currently unconnected at all.”
Tijani said that the policy of tariff adjustments and reviews in the telecoms sector had helped restore profitability and encouraged private investments exceeding $1 billion.
He said that infrastructure alone was not sufficient without digital skills and literacy.
He said that the government had differentiated between advanced technical skills and basic digital literacy, pointing to the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program launched in 2023, which had already trained over 150,000 young Nigerians.
He said that plans were underway to roll out a nationwide digital literacy program using mobile technology and local languages.
He said that Nigeria had developed the first government-backed large language model in Africa, enabling artificial intelligence to communicate in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and accented English.
He said this innovation would serve as the foundation for delivering digital literacy training to Nigerians of all ages.
Providing an update on Nigeria’s satellite plans, Tijani said the country’s existing communication satellite had become outdated and that President Bola Tinubu had approved the procurement of new ones.
He stated that the satellites would play a key role in connecting hard-to-reach areas and supporting national security.
According to him, fiber deployment is expected to commence between the second and third quarters of this year; he said the new satellites should become operational by next year.
In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer of the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa (PDA), Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, said the goal of the event was in line with the continent’s goal of connecting one billion people to the internet by 2030.
Guimba-Saidou commended Nigeria for its clear strategy and massive investments in connectivity, devices, and digital skills, adding that electricity remains a critical missing link in achieving true digital inclusion.
He said that PDA’s Mission 300 initiative focused on expanding electricity access to remote areas to enable communities, schools, health centers, and markets to fully benefit from digital services.
He said,“This is about making connectivity relevant to the people who need it the most, not just those in major cities.”
He called for stronger collaboration between the public and the private sector to close the digital divide quickly and effectively.
Earlier, the World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said Nigeria had some of the world’s most significant deficits in electricity access and backbone infrastructure but also enormous growth potential driven by its demographics.
Verghis said that digital inclusion cannot be achieved without reliable power, broadband connectivity, and affordable devices working together.
He said the world bank stood ready to support public, as well as private sector partners in Nigeria, to turn the vision of integrated power and broadband access into reality for millions of Nigerians.
He called for coordinated planning, construction, and financing of power and fiber infrastructure to reduce costs and accelerate universal access.
“There is no digital inclusion without power, and no inclusive growth from electrification without connectivity,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani
