Real Reason Why FG Allocated 80% of New Telecom Towers to Northern Nigeria

In a bold move to accelerate digital inclusion, the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the deployment of 7,000 new telecommunications towers nationwide — with a staggering 80% of the infrastructure designated for Northern Nigeria.

Approved by the Federal Executive Council in March 2025, the project aims to close the region’s longstanding connectivity gap and facilitate the nationwide rollout of 5G technology. The first installation is scheduled for next week in a rural Abuja community of 5,000 residents, where connectivity challenges are compounded by persistent insecurity.

Unlike traditional telecom masts, these advanced digital towers will serve dual purposes — functioning as connectivity hubs for schools, hospitals, and local government offices, ensuring communities receive comprehensive digital support.

“Most of the unconnected clusters are in the North,” said Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, in a recent interview. “So, almost 80% of these towers will be going toward filling that gap. The rest will patch up where we have left off in other regions.”

Tijani also emphasized the government’s collaborative model, where mobile network operators can share tower infrastructure to reduce redundancy and lower deployment costs.

As of January 2025, 128.3 million Nigerians — 54.3% of the population — remain without internet access, ranking Nigeria fourth globally for the highest number of unconnected individuals. Despite modest progress, with the number of underserved people falling from 36.8 million in 2013 to 23 million in early 2025, digital inequality remains a significant hurdle.

The 7,000-tower initiative operates independently of the government’s Project 774 and forms part of a broader strategy that includes fibre-optic expansion and satellite internet solutions like Starlink — all aimed at ensuring last-mile connectivity across Nigeria.

The decision to prioritize the North aligns with the region’s disproportionate share of unconnected communities and reflects the administration’s commitment to using digital transformation as a tool for economic growth, social inclusion, and national security.