02 April 2024

The Nigerian minister of communications, innovation and digital economy Bosun Tijani has established a ministerial committee to provide solutions to the challenges facing the country’s telecom operators.

The committee is responsible for examining the operational conditions of telecom operators and proposing fiscal measures to mitigate the impact of macroeconomic pressures on their activities. It will also investigate issues related to the industry’s dependence on foreign currencies, shared services and infrastructure agreements, local content.

The establishment of this committee comes a few days after Nigeria suffered disruptions to the internet network due to the cutting of certain submarine cables serving it. It is part of the measures undertaken by the government to restore internet service to populations as quickly as possible, but also to guarantee optimal quality services for end users in the long term.

However, this vision could be slowed down by the recurring challenges complained of by players in the ICT sector. These include multiple taxation, shortage of foreign exchange, devaluation of the naira, high price of diesel. For example, the sector would have invested 50.28 billion naira in diesel during the month of February 2024 alone.

“As a major contributor to our country’s GDP, the telecommunications industry is critical to the development of our nation, as it helps drive innovation and promote digital inclusion among Nigerians,” said Tijani.