By Ayodele Quadri, Lagos Times Correspondent
ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to commence the physical deployment of a 90,000-kilometre nationwide fibre optic backbone within the coming weeks. The landmark digital infrastructure project is aimed at expanding broadband penetration, lowering internet costs, and delivering high-speed connectivity to all regions of the country.
Disclosing the development following a briefing with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, confirmed that all financing, contractual agreements, and capital mobilization processes have been finalized.
Key Highlights of the Digital Transformation Rollout
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Nationwide Reach: The 90,000km project will extend high-speed fibre optic infrastructure to every state, geopolitical zone, local government area (LGA), and ward across Nigeria.
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Rural Telecoms Expansion: Alongside the fibre project, the Federal Government will deploy approximately 3,700 telecom towers beginning in October 2026 to provide network coverage to over 20 million Nigerians currently living in unserved or underserved communities.
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National Alphanumeric Postcode Launch: Nigeria will launch an advanced alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, 2026. The system will assign a unique physical address to every property in the country to boost e-commerce, streamline logistics delivery, and enhance security identity databases.
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Critical National Infrastructure Designation: Sector growth has been further supported by key policy reforms under the Tinubu administration, including tax harmonisation, telecommunication tariff reviews, and classifying digital assets as Critical National Infrastructure.
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Economic Impact: According to ministry figures, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector’s GDP contribution has grown from 16%–18% up to nearly 21%.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NIGERIA 90,000KM FIBRE OPTIC ROLLOUT MATRIX │
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│ • Lead Agency : Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital │
│ Economy (Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister) │
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│ • Scope & Scale : 90,000km nationwide fibre optic backbone cable │
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│ • Target Reach : All 36 States, FCT, LGAs, and Wards │
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│ • Timeline : Laying operations commence within weeks │
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│ • Complementary : • 3,700 Rural Telecom Towers (Commencing Oct 2026) │
│ Initiatives : • Alphanumeric Postcode System (Launch Oct 1, 2026)│
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│ • Sector Growth : ICT contribution to GDP tracking near 21% │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘“Every State, LGA, and Ward Will Be Covered”
Outlining the scope of the nationwide laying process, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, stated:
“We’re now at the point where, in a few weeks’ time, we should start to lay those fibres, so people will start seeing us around the country deploying the fibre. This is going to transform Nigeria for good… This is a project where every state, every geopolitical zone, every local government and every ward in this country will be covered with fibre optic cables, which will transform the quality of connectivity.” — Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy
Speaking on the rollout of rural telecom towers to bridge digital marginalization, Dr. Tijani added:
“Today we’re in a place where, before the end of the year, we’ll also start to deploy close to 3,700 towers. It’s taken a lot putting this project together, raising the capital for it, but we are at a point where we should now start deploying around October.” — Dr. Bosun Tijani
