The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the country’s broadband penetration stood at 48.81 per cent as of August 2025.
The Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, disclosed this on Wednesday while delivering his keynote address at the Rural Connectivity Summit held in Lagos.
The summit, the first of its kind in Nigeria, had the theme: “Rethinking Digital Connectivity to Unlock Rural Economic Potentials.”
Maida, represented by the Controller of the NCC Lagos Office, Mr. Tunji Jimoh, said while urban areas in Nigeria enjoy up to 57 per cent internet access, rural communities lag behind with only 23 per cent connectivity.
He recalled that under the National Broadband Plan (NBP 2020–2025), Nigeria is expected to achieve a 70 per cent broadband penetration rate by the end of 2025.
According to him, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Development Index (IDI) for 2025 ranked Nigeria 137th out of 164 economies, with a score of 52.9, an improvement from 46.9 in 2024.
Maida described the ranking as a concern, attributing it to persistent gaps in internet usage (39.2 per cent) and household access (40.1 per cent).
In his address titled “Leaving Nobody Behind: Leveraging Regulatory Advantages to Bridge Nigeria’s Digital Divide,” Maida reaffirmed NCC’s commitment to bridging the urban–rural connectivity gap.
He noted that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration could drive a 1.38 per cent rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in developing economies.
“Over 45 per cent of Nigeria’s population live in rural areas, yet they face systemic exclusion from digital opportunities.
The true measure of connectivity is not in megabits per second, but in the economic value it creates.
A community without digital connectivity is functionally invisible — cut off from education, healthcare, and opportunity,”
he said.
Maida said the NCC was pursuing a multi-pronged regulatory and financial intervention strategy through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to bridge the gap.
He announced the launch of the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Index (NDCI) on Oct. 9, 2025 — an annual public scorecard to assess each state’s digital readiness and foster accountability.
The EVC also revealed that between January and August 2025, the telecoms sector recorded 19,384 fibre cuts, 3,241 equipment thefts, and over 19,000 denials of access to telecom sites.
To address this, he said the NCC championed the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Presidential Order, signed in June 2024, empowering law enforcement agencies to tackle vandalism.
Maida urged state governments to adopt Zero Right-of-Way (RoW) policies and appealed to communities to protect telecom assets, describing them as “bridges between backwardness and global relevance.”
In his remarks, Mr. Tony Emoekpere, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), emphasized that rural connectivity was key to economic and social growth.
“Everyone understands the impact of broadband when it reaches a community — it transforms lives, businesses, and opportunities.
We must move from talk to action and identify practical drivers for progress,”
Emoekpere said.
Also speaking, Dr. Tola Yusuf, Co-Founder of Infratel Africa, in his presentation titled “Incentivising Digital Infrastructure Deployment as the Backbone of Successful Rural Connectivity,” said digital connectivity was the foundation of rural prosperity.
He stressed the need for an effective incentive structure to encourage infrastructure deployment.
“We need the right models and incentives to push this narrative forward and make rural connectivity a reality,”
Yusuf said.
In his welcome address, the convener of the summit, Mr. Omobayo Azeez, described rural connectivity as both an urgent challenge and a great opportunity for national development.
“Bridging Nigeria’s digital divide is not just a technical necessity; it’s a national call to action,”
he said.
Azeez noted that more than 20 million Nigerians still live without any form of connectivity — a figure exceeding the population of several African countries.
“That number is not just a statistic; it represents families, teachers, traders, and health workers who remain cut off from the transformative power of ICT,”
he said.
He added that the real challenge was not capability or technology, but political will, policy consistency, and coordinated commitment.
“Connectivity is more than cables and towers — it is access to education, healthcare, markets, and governance.
Every unconnected community represents lost potential,”
Azeez concluded.
