….Urges Governors To Benchmark RoW Waivers
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has reiterated the need for all stakeholders in the nation’s telecommunication space and the Federal Government to accelerate broadband expansion and safeguard telecommunications infrastructure nationwide.
The telecom industry regulator, who gave this charge in his opening remarks on Wednesday at a high-level “Business Roundtable on Improving Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Infrastructure”, held at the NCC Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja,described connectivity as the lifeblood of modern economies and the quiet enabler of national productivity.
The event with the theme “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure , The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity” featured key policymakers, industry leaders, and state government representatives to deliberate on the theme:
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, Dr. Maida posed a compelling question to frame the day’s conversation , “How much is an hour of connectivity worth?” He used this question to illustrate how digital connectivity underpins every facet of economic life, from commerce and security to healthcare, education, and innovation.
“When connectivity fails, opportunities evaporate, productivity stalls, and in critical moments, lives can be put at risk,” he said. “Broadband is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity for economic inclusion, innovation, and national resilience.”
While noting that Nigeria’s broadband penetration has reached 48.81% as of August 2025, connecting more than 140 million Nigerians to the Internet, the EVC maintained that each percentage point increase in broadband penetration directly boosted Nigeria’s GDP and that a 10% increase can drive up to 1.38% GDP growth in developing nations.
He cited examples of some nations like Rwanda and India, which leveraged broadband investment to build multi-billion-dollar digital economies, to justice his position.
The EVC said: “With over 200 million people and a median age of just 18, Nigeria has the potential not only to replicate those success stories but to surpass them, if we provide our youth with reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband access.”
On policy reforms and digital expansion drive under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, Maida explained that the government had been executing the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025), a roadmap targeting 70% broadband penetration and 90,000km of fibre-optic backbone infrastructure by 2025.
On the Right of Way (RoW) challenge, which was one of the major issues for deliberation at the roundtable, the EVC lamented that despite the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) agreement setting RoW fees at N145 per linear meter, several states continued to impose higher rates, inflating network deployment costs.
According to him, due to sustained advocacy by the NCC on the matter, 11 states were now offering zero RoW charges, while 17 states adhere to the NGF’s N145 benchmark.
He clarified: “Where states have reduced or waived RoW fees, we’ve seen rapid network expansion and greater private investment. Policy alignment is key to national broadband growth.”
Maida also spoke on new measures by the NCC designed to enhance transparency, improve investor confidence, and strengthen service delivery, including Cost-Reflective Tariffs, Wholesale Fibre Study, and Transparency Dashboards.
This is even as he noted that the Commission had introduced new data-driven platforms for tracking service outages, network quality, and operator compliance, ensuring that what gets measured gets managed.
Despite these innovative approach in the commission’s regulatory initiatives, Maida listed some of persistent challenges in the telecom industry as including multiple taxation, energy supply volatility, and cumbersome permitting processes, calling for unified national collaboration to resolve them.
Maida appealed to state governors and policymakers on the urgency of coordinated national action to prevent Nigeria from being left behind in the global digital race.
He recalled: “In the past, a community without a railway or electricity could still survive. In today’s world, a community without connectivity is invisible, it is cut off from education, healthcare, markets, and opportunity.”
He, therefore, urged the subnational governments to adopt full or benchmark RoW waivers to enable seamless fibre deployment, coordinate road and telecom infrastructure planning through “dig-once” policies, establish digital infrastructure funds to attract private sector partnerships, and support solar and hybrid power solutions at telecom sites for improved uptime and reduced emissions.
As part of its broader digital transformation agenda, the EVC hinted about two major initiatives of the commission set for rollout, namely The Ease of Doing Business Portal, a one-stop platform linking operators with all 36 states and the FCT, designed to streamline project approvals and improve transparency; and Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index (NDCI), which is an annual digital-readiness scorecard that ranks states on broadband adoption, competitiveness, and regulatory alignment to encourage accountability and healthy competition.
Maida restated the commission’s commitment to expanding connectivity, strengthening investor confidence, and collaborating with stakeholders across all levels of government, stressing that “the digital revolution does not wait. Let us align, invest, and protect, so that our youth become creators, not just consumers, of digital value.”
