Industry leaders assess President Tinubu's first year, praising ICT initiatives but urging more action on costs, infrastructure, and policies to fulfill digital economy vision.
As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration marks one year in office, key players in Nigeria's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector are offering a mixed assessment of the government's performance and impact on the industry so far. While lauding some positive initiatives, stakeholders are also voicing concerns over unfulfilled promises and missed opportunities to propel the sector's growth.
The Tinubu administration unveiled a comprehensive "Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency" blueprint aimed at bolstering Nigeria's digital economy through enhanced productivity and innovation. Targets included improving broadband penetration, internet speeds, population coverage, and infrastructure investment by 2025-2027.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), under Dr. Aminu Maida's leadership, has prioritized strategic focus areas - consumers, industry, and government - to balance divergent needs. Efforts are underway to enhance quality of service, simplify tariffs, review regulations, address industry debt, and secure reductions in right-of-way charges from states.
"Forging a resilient and innovative telecommunications industry, the Commission is actively supporting the renewed hope for economic growth through tech," stated Maida.
However, industry stakeholders acknowledge lingering roadblocks like forex challenges, multiple taxation, infrastructure damage, and bureaucracy that impede faster progress.
The announcement of initiatives like the 3MTT digital skills program, the Nigeria Data Protection Act, and support for startups have garnered praise. However, experts advocate strengthening policy execution, innovative regulation, stakeholder engagement, and leveraging global partnerships.
As Tinubu's second year begins, all eyes are on addressing lingering pain points to foster a truly innovation-driven digital economy and fulfill the promises of a technology-led renewal.
Source: Leadership
