The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy Dr. Bosun-Tijani has emphasied the importance of collaboration, saying such arrangement would strengthen the National Broadband Alliance for Nigeria (NBAN) and enhance broadband penetration and accessibility nationwide.
He spoke at the inauguration of NBAN in Lagos where he stated that the initiative was aimed at forming an alliance to drive and facilitate broadband penetration because a single entity cannot achieve the giant strides of extending broadband penetration to all the nooks and crannies of the country.
The Minister who was represented by the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, said such collaboration would reshape the future of Nigeria and accelerate collective prosperity.
He said such collaboration would reshape the future of Nigeria and accelerate collective prosperity.
In a key note address titled “The Broadband Alliance: Accelerating Our Collective Prosperity Through Connectivity, Dr. Bosun-Tijani who was represented by the Executive Vice Chairman Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida said the National Broadband Alliance for Nigeria ,NBAN is not just an initiative but a transformative journey that will pave the way for a digitally connected Nigeria.
He said, the journey aligns seamlessly with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President, which emphasises on innovation, technology, and collaboration, being essential pillars for driving prosperity for all Nigerians.
He added that taking stock of the county’s progress in broadband development, From a modest six per cent broadband penetration in 2015, to the approximately 42 per cent growth in October 2024, as reported by the NCC the progress Dr. Tijani said is quite commendable, though there is much more to be done to ensure that every Nigerian enjoy the benefits of reliable, and high-speed internet.
Dr. Bosun-Tijani said the alliance is expected to prioritise areas with limited broadband coverage, addressing the digital divide and promoting digital inclusion,
According to him, in spite of the growing availability of fibre networks, the country faces an unfortunate paradox: many of these networks remain under-utilised.
Dr. Tijani said that in numerous parts of the country, the capacity of existing fibre infrastructure far exceeded the demand.
The minister attributed this primarily to a lack of access to necessary infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, compounded by significant barriers to broadband adoption.
He said that these barriers included limited access to devices, lack of awareness, inadequate digital literacy, cumbersome regulatory processes, and power supply challenges.
According to him, this under-utilisation of existing infrastructure hinders digital transformation and also negatively impacts the return on investment this vicious cycle, he added must be broken in order to realise the full potential of broadband and its contribution to our digital economy, hence the introduction of NBAN was in response to this challenge.
Dr. Tijani said that NBAN was founded on the principle that no single entity could achieve universal broadband access alone.
He, however, commended the pilot states Edo, Ogun, Kwara, Katsina, Imo, Abia, Borno and Nasarawa for their leadership in addressing challenges like right-of-way fees and for creating an enabling environment for broadband expansion.
Earlier in an opening remark the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC Dr. Aminu Maida the launch of NBAN represents a pivotal moment in driving collaboration and tackling the key challenges that have hindered broadband expansion, From high-rises to infrastructure, vandalism to investment barriers and the need for a demand-driven solutions.
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