L -R: Mr. Tristan Muhader, Vice President Middle East and Africa OOKLA; Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner and CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC; Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, NCC; Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments; Mr. Bolaji Bologun, CEO Chapel Hill Denham; Ambassador Anna Westerholm, Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria; Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA during the Nigerian Digital Connectivity Investment Forum
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called for increased public and private sector investment in telecommunications infrastructure.
This is to accelerate broadband expansion, improve service quality, and support Nigeria's growing digital economy.
Making remarks at the opening of the maiden Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the forum was designed to provide a strategic platform for dialogue between regulators, investors, infrastructure providers, and development partners to examine investment requirements, identify barriers to deployment, and explore partnerships capable of accelerating digital transformation.
Organised by the NCC in collaboration with Swedfund and Ookla in Abuja, Dr. Maida said “The experience of the last two and a half decades underscores the importance of creating an enabling environment for investment. As a regulator, the Commission remains committed to facilitating investment while ensuring consumer protection and promoting fair competition,”
In a statement by Nnenna Ukoha, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Maida explained that liberalisation and transparent licensing over the last 25 years drove unprecedented growth.
The NCC boss disclosed that data consumption in Nigeria increased from approximately 1.13 million terabytes in July 2025 to about 1.66 million terabytes in July 2026 — representing nearly 47 per cent growth within one year.
“The investment challenge before us is not merely one of expanding coverage. It is also about ensuring that those already connected enjoy better service quality, improved user experiences, and infrastructure capable of supporting future technologies,” he said.
He cited measures already implemented to boost investor confidence, including the telecommunications tariff adjustment approved in 2025, ongoing engagements with state governments on Right of Way, and the designation of telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dr. Maida also highlighted the Commission’s Consumer Data Lab, funded by the Gates Foundation and developed with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), which integrates Ookla’s network performance data, consumer complaints and operators’ intervention reports into a single dashboard.
“This helps us investigate service problems and assess whether operators’ interventions have improved consumers’ experience... We want investors to benefit from that understanding, and from regulatory decisions that are clear, proportionate and supported by evidence,” he said.
Delivering keynote address on “Connectivity and Competitiveness: Digital Infrastructure as a driver of Investment Climate and Trade”, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, commended NCC and said quality of digital infrastructure increasingly determines investment climate and ability to participate in international trade, noting that private networks, data centres and secure data systems are now critical for transactions.
Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, acknowledged gaps in coverage, quality and affordability, stressing need for collaboration.
According to her, Swedish institutions and companies could contribute technology, development finance and export financing.
VP of Sales, Middle East & Africa, Ookla, Tristan Muhader, said: “Connectivity is no longer simply the channel through which we make calls or browse the internet. It is becoming the operating layer for economic and public activity... That makes its performance and resilience a national priority.”
Representing the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Director of the National Frequency Management Council, Adetunji Adeyemo, said reliable, affordable, resilient and accessible digital infrastructure was essential to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
The two-day forum brings together policymakers, investors, development finance institutions, operators, infrastructure providers and technology companies.