Nigeria to Telcos: Improve Network Quality or Face Sanctions
Nigeria’s communications minister has had enough. The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, issued a firm directive on Sunday. He ordered telecom operators to fix persistent network failures without further delay.
Tijani said the federal government has already addressed the root causes of poor service. Reforms include tariff adjustments, tax harmonisation, and the designation of telecom infrastructure as critical national assets. As a result, operators have returned to profitability. “The conditions required for improved service delivery have now been established,” he stated. Operators now have both the money and the capacity to fix their networks. Therefore, there are no more excuses.
Nigeria Telcos Fix Network Quality or Face the NCC
The minister named MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, and T2 directly. Each must resolve network challenges and improve call quality, data performance, and coverage. The Nigerian Communications Commission has been fully empowered to monitor, enforce, and sanction without government interference. that the NCC will act on periodic reports and public complaints. Where operators deliver, they will receive recognition. Where they do not, sanctions follow.
Project Bridge, unveiled in August 2025, forms the backbone of Nigeria’s connectivity strategy. It aims to extend the national fibre network from roughly 30,000 km to about 120,000 km. The goal is to connect all 774 Local Government Areas. In addition, operators are committed to approximately 12,000 network site upgrades in 2026 alone. About 2,800 are already complete. Meanwhile, subscribers of Airtel and MTN have already begun receiving airtime compensation credits for past failures.
