Minister of communications and digital economy Bosun Tijani has said telecom operators in Nigeria must improve network quality, saying the government has now put the right conditions in place for better service delivery across the country.
In a statement shared on X on Sunday, Tijani said the government found deep infrastructure problems when it came into office and began work on fixing them. He said poor investment over the years affected the ability of operators to deliver reliable service, and the ministry has since moved to address both the immediate and long-term issues.
Tijani said the government has secured funding led by the World Bank for Project BRIDGE, which is expected to support fibre infrastructure across Nigeria. He said fibre deployment, new tower rollout, and satellite expansion are expected to begin before the end of the year.
He said the aim is to make internet access more reliable for homes and businesses.
āA small business owner should be able to access reliable, high speed fibre internet directly at their home or shop,ā he said.
Tijani also said the government introduced reforms to support the telecom sector, including tariff changes and measures to protect infrastructure.
āAs a result, operators are now operating in a more stable, transparent, and market driven environment and have returned to profitability,ā he said.
He added that telecom firms now have the resources to fix network issues and improve customer experience.
āLet me therefore be clear, the conditions required for improved service delivery have now been established,ā he said.
Tijani said operators including MTN Nigeriaļæ¼, Airtel Nigeriaļæ¼ and Globacomļæ¼ must now address service complaints and improve network quality.
He also said the Nigerian Communications Commission has been empowered to monitor performance and take action where operators fail to meet service standards.
Tijani said Nigerians should begin to see improvements in call quality, data service, and network coverage in the coming months.
Ademide Adebayo
