According to Bosun Tijjani, Minister of Digital Technology and Communication, 49% of Nigeria’s $2 billion fiber optic network investment initiative is being mobilized by the government. IHS, one of the biggest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared telecoms infrastructure worldwide, hosted a plenary event in Abuja where he made this statement. Tijjani said during the current Nigeria Economic Summit that 11 states had declared zero right of wa in less than two years. Because massive broadband infrastructure is needed to propel telecom growth, he stated, “the biggest issue in the telecom sector is to invest in infrastructure, which the federal government is currently mobilizing.Thus, we stated that in order to provide access to Nigerians, we must invest in fiber optic networks, which will cost $2 billion. The federal government decided to contribute 49% because no single company could raise that amount, and we want the private sector to contribute the remaining 51%. “We want every state and local government to have a fiber optics network, and we believe we can deliver between three and four years,” he continued. “We realized that if we improve broadband connectivity by 10%, it will lead to growth by 2.5%.Tijjani went on to reaffirm AI’s contribution to national development and mentioned that Nigeria has emerged as a telecom investment hotspot. At the Plenary Session on the topic of “Smart Growth, Digital Leap,” Mohamad Darwish, CEO of IHS Nigeria, shared his thoughts. He pointed out that in order to create a smart economy, Nigeria needs to reframe talent, innovation, and digital infrastructure as essential growth inputs and drivers rather than as ancillary areas. In order to address the infrastructure gaps that are impeding Nigeria’s digital growth and economic competitiveness, as well as the reasons behind them, we have called this plenary session at the 31st Economic Summit. We also intend to identify the regulatory reforms that are necessary to improve public-private partnerships that promote sustainable investment in infrastructure, innovation, and talent development,” he stated.
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