Maida calls for new telecom policy to drive Nigeria’s digital economy

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has called for a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s National Telecommunications Policy 2000, saying the telecommunications sector has evolved beyond connectivity to become the backbone of the country’s economy.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop on the review of the policy, Maida said telecommunications now underpins critical sectors including commerce, agriculture, manufacturing, education, healthcare, financial services and public administration, making a modern policy framework imperative.

According to him, while the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 laid the foundation for market liberalisation and sector growth, the industry has since outgrown the assumptions on which the policy was built.

He said the proposed National Telecommunications Policy 2026 would preserve the principles of competition, universal access and consumer protection while promoting broadband expansion, innovation, investment, cybersecurity, quality of service and digital inclusion.

Maida noted that deeper digitalisation across key sectors could significantly boost Nigeria’s economy through increased productivity, job creation and higher tax revenues, stressing that telecommunications regulation must now support the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.

The NCC boss added that the policy review would draw on inputs from industry stakeholders, former regulators, development partners and technology experts to produce a forward-looking framework capable of addressing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud computing and the Internet of Things.