The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has called for increased investment in telecommunications infrastructure as data consumption in the country surged by almost 47 per cent within one year.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum in Abuja.
The forum, organised in partnership with Swedfund and Ookla, brought together government officials, investors, development finance institutions and industry operators to explore financing opportunities for Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
Maida disclosed that Nigerians consumed about 1.66 million terabytes of data in July 2026, compared with 1.13 million terabytes in the corresponding period of 2025.
“We can see the demand in our figures. Nigerians consumed about 1.66 million terabytes of data in July this year, up from 1.13 million a year earlier. That is an increase of almost 47 per cent in twelve months.
“Keeping pace will require sustained investment, both to expand networks and to improve the experience of people already connected,” he said.
Maida said pressure on telecommunications networks would increase as cloud services and artificial intelligence became more widely used, making reliable connectivity increasingly important to businesses and consumers.
According to him, the NCC had been improving conditions for investment, including through the 2025 tariff adjustment, which addressed financial pressures on operators and their capacity to invest, with an expectation of improved services.
He added that the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure and engagement with state governments on Right of Way were helping to protect telecom assets and reduce deployment costs.
The NCC boss said the regulator was also using network performance data and consumer complaints to identify service gaps and areas requiring further investment.
“We are making evidence-based decision-making central to how we regulate. For investors, that should mean a clearer understanding of where the opportunities lie and greater confidence in the basis for our decisions,” Maida said.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said digital connectivity had become economic infrastructure critical to trade and investment.
She said the telecommunications sector accounted for more than nine per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2026, while mobile technologies and services contributed about $240bn to Africa’s economy in 2025.
Oduwole added that Nigeria had more than 25 data centres operational or under construction, highlighting growing investment opportunities in the digital economy.
“For investors, the message is straightforward: Nigeria is not approaching digital connectivity simply as a social infrastructure requirement. It is an investable economic opportunity,” she said.
She identified opportunities in data centres, cloud services, fibre, broadband, fintech, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and digital logistics, while stressing the need for policy predictability and regulatory coordination.
Also speaking, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, said gaps remained in coverage, quality, affordability and supporting infrastructure despite progress in expanding connectivity.
“Data should not be the end point. Its real value comes when we use it to make better decisions and turn those decisions into action,” she said.
Westerholm said reliable data could reduce uncertainty, strengthen investor confidence and help identify areas where additional investment would have the greatest impact.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, represented by the Director of the National Frequency Management Council Secretariat, Adetunji Adeyemo, said the government could not meet Nigeria’s digital infrastructure requirements alone.
He called for stronger public-private partnerships, innovative financing and development finance to expand connectivity.
“Good investment decisions require good data. Reliable and transparent data can help investors identify and filter asset demand, understand market opportunities, and develop projects that are both commercially viable and developmental,” he said.
