WATRA Urges Nigeria to Move Beyond Telecom Expansion and Accelerate Digital Transformation

The Executive Secretary of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, has urged Nigeria to build on the gains of its telecommunications reforms by focusing on economy-wide digital transformation as the next phase of development.

Aboki made the call while speaking at the Policy Review Workshop on the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on behalf of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani.

He said Nigeria’s future competitiveness would depend on how effectively it converts connectivity into innovation, productivity, digital inclusion, and economic growth.

The workshop brought together policymakers, regulators, telecom operators, and industry stakeholders to review the implementation of Nigeria’s telecommunications policy framework and discuss its future direction.

What the WATRA Executive is saying
Aboki described the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 as landmark reforms that transformed Nigeria’s communications landscape.

According to him, Nigeria’s telecom sector has evolved from an era marked by limited access, long waiting lists, and inadequate infrastructure into Africa’s largest telecommunications market by subscriber base.

He disclosed that the sector has attracted more than $75 billion in investments over the past two decades and has become one of the continent’s most dynamic digital ecosystems.

The WATRA boss added that the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector now contributes significantly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and plays a key role in enabling financial services, commerce, education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and public service delivery.

“Twenty-five years ago, telecommunications in Nigeria was characterised by scarcity, limited access, long waiting lists and inadequate infrastructure,” he said.
“Today, Nigeria has become Africa’s largest telecommunications market by subscriber base, attracting more than US$75 billion in investment and creating one of the continent’s most dynamic digital ecosystems,” he said.
More insights
While acknowledging the success of the telecommunications sector, Aboki said the next policy phase should focus on leveraging connectivity to drive wider economic and social transformation.

“The evidence of success is already clear. The more important question is how we use that foundation to drive the next phase of economic and social transformation,” he said.
He added that future telecom policies should move beyond expanding network coverage to creating an environment that supports digital innovation, productivity growth, and broader digital participation across society.

He also called for broadband infrastructure to be treated as critical national infrastructure alongside sectors such as power and transportation.

Aboki noted that while Nigeria rapidly liberalised telecom services, infrastructure development did not progress at the same pace.
According to him, investment in fibre backbone networks, metropolitan fibre systems, and rural broadband infrastructure has lagged behind the growth in mobile adoption and data demand.

He stressed the need for policies that encourage long-term infrastructure investments, infrastructure sharing, right-of-way reforms, and resilient broadband networks to support Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions.
The WATRA Executive Secretary also said the telecommunications framework must evolve to accommodate emerging areas such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital trade, digital manufacturing, and data governance.

What you should know
The NCC has commenced a review of the country’s telecom policy nearly three decades after its approval, citing rapid technological changes and evolving market realities that have outpaced the existing framework.

The NCC said the review is aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s telecommunications policy to reflect current dynamics in digital services, internet governance, satellite communications, broadband expansion and universal access, while sustaining the sector’s role as a key driver of economic growth.

As part of the review, the Commission has proposed a new chapter focused on broadband objectives, protection of critical national communications infrastructure, harmonisation of right of way charges across all tiers of government and the introduction of a one stop permitting process for telecom infrastructure deployment.