The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the launch of a $2 billion fund to connect all of the country’s 774 local government areas through fibre optics.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disclosed that the African Development Bank has pledged $200 million towards the project, with additional support from the World Bank, the African Export and Import Bank, and the United States Export and Import Bank, among others.
The Minister, who discloed this during a briefing with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, said that the pilot phase of the project will initially benefit eight states, including Imo, Kogi, and Zamfara, with plans to extend coverage nationwide within the next six months.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disclosed that the African Development Bank has pledged $200 million towards the project, with additional support from the World Bank, the African Export and Import Bank, and the United States Export and Import Bank, among others.
The initiative aims to deploy approximately 120,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables to achieve total connectivity, addressing the current shortfall of 35,000 kilometers.
In alignment with the government’s strategic objectives, a white paper published by the Ministry in January 2024 underscores the importance of expanding broadband access to enhance internet adoption and achieve a 70 percent broadband penetration target by 2025.
To facilitate this goal, the Ministry proposed the establishment of the National Broadband Alliance for Nigeria, a collaborative effort to drive broadband development and digital transformation across the country.
Tijani emphasised the significance of leveraging existing infrastructure, including NIGCOMSAT’s satellite network and Galaxy Backbone’s fiber network, for the connectivity of 774 local government secretariats, as announced last month.
“A number of local government secretariats in Kogi State are now connected, a number in Zamfara are being connected this week, a number in Imo State are being connected this week. In the next six months, our goal is to reach at least eight of the states within the country to demonstrate the pilot and the goal is to then take it from there and cover the entire country,” according to the Minister.
Tijani stressed that by connecting these local government Secretariats, which are the closest form of government to the people, they can utilise technology to improve public service delivery and significantly enhance security measures.
The Minister also outlined plans to source additional funds to drive down connectivity costs and ensure widespread access to essential services such as education, healthcare, and e-commerce.
Discussions with international partners, Tijani hinted, including the African Development Bank and the World Bank, indicate strong support for the initiative, reflecting the high return on investment associated with infrastructure development.
In a related development, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr. Dorris Uzoka-Anite, announced Nigeria’s participation in a $1 billion facility from the World Bank to establish digital infrastructure for e-commerce. This collaboration aims to boost trade intelligence and support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in leveraging digital platforms for market access and productivity enhancement.
According to her, “The World Trade Organization (WTO) is partnering with the World Bank to give us support in digital trade. That includes hard infrastructure, that’s the fiber optic connectivity and soft infrastructure, software platforms and all of that.”
Additionally, she mentioned the partnership with the WTO to establish a trade intelligence unit within the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
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