Nigeria’s Federal Government has issued a direct warning to telecommunications operators to raise service standards or face regulatory consequences, declaring that recent sector reforms have removed the structural barriers that previously justified poor network performance.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr. Bosun Tijani issued the warning in a statement on Sunday, telling operators that years of underinvestment and operational constraints had been addressed through deliberate government intervention and that the responsibility for improvement now rests squarely with the industry.
The government’s reform programme operates on two tracks. Long-term measures focus on expanding the country’s digital backbone through new fibre deployment and tower rollout initiatives. Funding has been secured with World Bank support through Project BRIDGE, a framework designed to deliver nationwide open access fibre infrastructure, while satellite capacity investments are also under way. The government expects these interventions to deliver transformative connectivity improvements within two to five years.
On the immediate front, the administration stabilised the sector through tariff adjustments, the designation of telecom infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, tax harmonisation efforts and broader macroeconomic reforms. Tijani said these steps restored operator profitability and created a transparent, market-driven environment capable of supporting investment.
The minister named MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and 9mobile directly, saying operators must “take all necessary steps to resolve network challenges” and meet the standard that Nigerians expect.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been fully empowered to monitor operator performance, enforce service standards and impose sanctions on any company found in breach. Fibre deployment and new tower rollouts are expected to begin before the end of the year alongside expanded satellite coverage.
