Tijani says funding is ready as government moves to expand broadband access, connect underserved communities and strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy…..
The Federal Government is set to commence the rollout of its ambitious 90,000-kilometre nationwide fibre-optic network in October, a move expected to significantly expand Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and improve internet access across underserved communities.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, announced the October commencement date on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at the National Innovation Hub Standards Framework Workshop.
Tijani said the government had already secured funding for the project, which is expected to become a major component of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s broadband backbone and provide the infrastructure needed to support the country’s growing digital economy.
According to the minister, the scale of the project would place Nigeria among the countries with the longest fibre-optic networks on the African continent.
“President Bola Tinubu approved that we must deepen connectivity and we’re investing in 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network,” Tijani said.
He added that implementation of the project would begin in October, noting that the necessary funding had been raised.
The project, known as Project BRIDGE — Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth, is designed to add at least 90,000km of fibre infrastructure to Nigeria’s existing network.
If completed as planned, the project would increase the country’s fibre backbone from approximately 35,000km to about 125,000km.
Tijani said the expansion was critical to the government’s broader strategy of creating the infrastructure required for a more productive and digitally driven economy.
Funding for the project has been assembled through support from several development partners.
The World Bank approved $500 million in financing for the initiative in October 2025, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development committed another $100 million, alongside a €22 million grant from the European Union.
The African Development Bank also approved $200 million in April 2026 for Nigeria’s Digital Value Chain Infrastructure for Boosting Employment project, which incorporates Project BRIDGE.
Tijani said the fibre rollout was only one part of a broader three-layer digital infrastructure strategy being pursued by the government.
The first layer focuses on foundational infrastructure, including fibre networks, electricity, telecommunications towers, satellites and data centres.
The second involves digital platforms such as identity and payment systems, while the third is made up of the entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses expected to develop products and services on top of the infrastructure.
FG plans 3,700 telecom towers
Beyond the fibre project, the minister disclosed that the government was also planning to deploy nearly 3,700 telecommunications towers in communities that currently have little or no access to mobile networks.
Tijani said more than 20 million Nigerians live in communities without access to telecommunications services.
“There are over 20 million of those people in this country today living in communities where there’s no access to telecommunications at all,” he said.
He added that the government also planned to renew Nigeria’s communications satellite to extend connectivity to locations where terrestrial infrastructure, including fibre and telecom towers, would be difficult to deploy.
For the minister, the investments are tied directly to the government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, arguing that Nigeria must diversify beyond its traditional dependence on oil and gas.
He said a stronger technology ecosystem could encourage the emergence of more globally competitive Nigerian companies, create jobs and expand the government’s tax base.
Tijani cited companies such as Andela, Paystack and Flutterwave as examples of the type of technology-driven businesses Nigeria could produce in greater numbers.
NITDA moves to standardise innovation hubs
At the workshop where Tijani spoke, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Abdullahi, said the government was also working to address disparities in the quality and distribution of innovation hubs across Nigeria.
Abdullahi said research had identified more than 339 innovation hubs across the country, but noted that a large proportion were concentrated in Lagos, Abuja and a handful of other states.
He said the proposed National Innovation Hub Standards Framework was intended to establish a common benchmark and make it possible for hubs across the country to provide more consistent support to entrepreneurs.
“We find it necessary to standardise across the country so that you don’t need to travel from Yola to Yaba for you to grow your business,” Abdullahi said.
The proposed framework contains seven dimensions and about 35 assessment criteria, which innovation hubs can use to assess their capabilities and identify areas for improvement.
Abdullahi also disclosed that NITDA was collaborating with the Ministry of Education on efforts to integrate digital skills into formal education.
He identified the disconnect between academic training and industry requirements as one of the challenges that must be addressed if Nigeria is to build a stronger technology ecosystem.
The European Union also expressed support for the development of common standards for Nigeria’s innovation hubs.
The Acting Head of Partnerships at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Prof. Leila Ben-Amor, said standardisation would be essential to ensuring that the country’s rapidly expanding innovation ecosystem could grow sustainably.
She disclosed that Team Europe and participating member states were supporting Nigeria’s digital ecosystem with more than €820 million between 2021 and 2027, through initiatives including the EU-Nigeria Digital Package and the Global Gateway Strategy.
“Scale without a common standard is fragile,” Ben-Amor said, stressing the importance of having a framework that could guide the development of innovation hubs nationwide.
Representing Denmark’s Consul General to Nigeria, Senior Programme Manager at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, Nosakhare Ayejimiwo, said a national benchmark would help improve the quality and capacity of innovation hubs.
She added that such a framework could also enable government agencies and development partners to identify where their interventions would have the greatest impact.
With the fibre rollout scheduled to begin in October, the government is now moving from planning and funding arrangements to implementation on a project that could reshape Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and extend reliable connectivity to communities that have remained outside the reach of existing networks.
