Minister of Communications, Innovation And Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has asked telecommunications operators to improve service quality, warning of regulatory actions against defaulters.
In a statement on Sunday, Tijani said operators are now functioning in a more stable and market-driven environment and have returned to profitability following reforms introduced by the federal government to stabilise the sector.
“This is important as it means operators now have both the capacity and the resources to fix outstanding issues within their networks and improve the quality of service delivered to Nigerians,” he said.
“Let me therefore be clear, the conditions required for improved service delivery have now been established.
“It is now the responsibility of telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, and T2 to take all necessary steps to resolve network challenges and deliver the level of service Nigerians expect.”
Tijani said the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been fully empowered to monitor operators, enforce service standards, and ensure compliance across the industry.
He said the government would rely on the NCC’s periodic reports and feedback from Nigerians to track improvements in network performance.
“Going forward, we expect to see clear and measurable improvements in call quality, data performance, and coverage,” the minister said.
“Where operators deliver, it will be recognised.
“Where they do not, the Commission is expected to take appropriate regulatory action.”
Tunji said “Nigerians should begin to see improvements in quality of service and get value that they paid for now, and in the future”.
The minister said the country’s connectivity challenges were largely structural and driven by years of underinvestment in infrastructure.
He said the government had moved to address the challenges through long-term infrastructure investments and immediate reforms aimed at stabilising operators.
According to Tijani, the federal government has secured funding led by the World Bank under ‘Project BRIDGE’ to support nationwide open-access fibre infrastructure.
“We have secured funding, led by the World Bank, and established the framework for a special purpose vehicle with Project BRIDGE, to deliver nationwide open access fibre infrastructure,” he said.
“Deployment of fibre will commence, alongside new tower rollouts through NUCAP, before the end of the year even as we also expand our satellite capability.”
He said the investments would address foundational gaps in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure within the next two to five years.
“A small business owner should be able to access reliable, high speed fibre internet directly at their home or shop, not rely solely on dongles or unstable mobile connections,” he said.
“That is the level of meaningful connectivity we are building towards.”
Tijani said the government also implemented reforms to restore sustainability in the telecom sector, including tariff adjustments, designation of telecom infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, tax harmonisation efforts, and broader macroeconomic reforms.