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From Abuja.
The National Assembly has commended the sustained growth of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) presented a proposed ₦472 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
The commendation came during a joint budget defence session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Communications, where lawmakers also examined issues relating to service quality and the utilisation of previously approved funds.
The session was presided over by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, alongside the Chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Presenting the Commission’s proposal, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission,Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed that the regulator is proposing a total expenditure of ₦472 billion for 2026 in line with the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Maida, who was represented at the session by the Commission’s Head of Finance, James Kalu, said Nigeria’s telecommunications sector recorded a growth rate of 5.17 per cent in 2025, maintaining its position as one of the most resilient contributors to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He attributed the sector’s strong performance to ongoing infrastructure expansion and the increasing demand for digital services across the country.
According to him, regulatory initiatives and investments by telecom operators led to the deployment and upgrade of about 2,800 telecommunications sites nationwide in 2025.
The development, he explained, boosted network capacity and expanded broadband penetration by six per cent, raising nationwide coverage to about 50 per cent.
The Commission also reported improvements in internet performance indicators, with average data speeds increasing by about 24 per cent,from approximately 16 megabits per second to around 20 megabits per second.
Despite acknowledging the sector’s progress, lawmakers expressed concern over persistent service quality challenges in several parts of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory.
They urged the NCC to strengthen regulatory oversight to ensure that Nigerians enjoy reliable and affordable telecommunications services.
Legislators also scrutinised the Commission’s financial performance, pointing to gaps between approved budgets and actual expenditure in the 2025 fiscal year.
According to the committees, while ₦95 billion was approved for recurrent expenditure in 2025, about ₦73 billion was utilised.
Similarly, only about ₦7 billion of the ₦10 billion allocated for capital projects was spent.
However, the lawmakers commended the Commission for surpassing its revenue remittance target to the Federal Government. While the NCC initially projected a remittance of about ₦30 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2025, it ultimately remitted ₦102 billion.
For the 2026 fiscal year, the Commission proposed ₦424 billion for recurrent expenditure and ₦15 billion for capital and special projects.
The NCC also projected that it would remit ₦207 billion to the Federal Government and contribute ₦20 billion to the Universal Service Provision Fund to support telecommunications infrastructure expansion in rural and underserved communities.
Beyond the financial projections, lawmakers requested further clarification on the Commission’s long-term digital strategy, including its 2036 roadmap, spectrum management framework, Right-of-Way policy and data retention regulations.
In response, the Commission assured the National Assembly of its commitment to strengthening regulatory compliance, enhancing consumer protection and expanding telecommunications infrastructure in line with Nigeria’s broader digital transformation agenda.
