By Our Reporter
The Federal Government is targeting the deployment of more than 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic infrastructure across Nigeria by 2028, but the ambitious digital expansion still requires about $1.2 billion in private investment to meet its financing needs, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has disclosed.
Yilwatda said the initiative, known as Project BRIDGE, would expand Nigeria’s combined fibre backbone from approximately 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 kilometres and extend connectivity to more than 200,000 schools, health facilities and other public institutions.
He made the disclosure during a virtual executive session with chief executive officers in the information technology industry on Wednesday, according to a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.
The APC chairman described reliable and affordable digital connectivity as a prerequisite for Nigeria’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital inclusion and a technology-driven economy.
He said the Federal Government had incorporated Bridge Open Access as an independent company to deliver the network, with the government, through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, expected to hold between 25 and 49 per cent equity, while private investors would own between 51 and 75 per cent and retain operational control.
According to him, the arrangement is designed to combine government support and risk reduction with private-sector investment, operational discipline and efficiency.
Yilwatda disclosed that about $800 million in sovereign financing had been secured for the project, comprising $500 million from the World Bank, $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and $200 million from the African Development Bank. The initiative has also received a €22 million grant from the European Union.
He said physical deployment was scheduled to begin in October 2026, with the delivery period reduced from five years to three years and completion targeted for 2028.
However, he cautioned that the project’s success would depend on implementation rather than announcements, noting that a substantial financing gap remained.
“Announcements do not lay cable,” Yilwatda said, stressing that about $1.2 billion in private capital was still required to meet the project’s financing needs.
He warned that the expansion of fibre infrastructure alone would not guarantee digital inclusion without complementary investments in electricity, affordable devices, data services, telecommunications towers, backhaul infrastructure and last-mile connectivity.
According to him, fibre deployment remains heavily concentrated in major urban centres, with Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory accounting for more than 18 per cent of deployed fibre, while fibre-to-the-home penetration remains relatively low, with approximately 265,000 subscribers nationwide.
The APC chairman identified high and inconsistent right-of-way charges, multiple permits and damage to installed telecommunications infrastructure as major obstacles to the expansion of broadband connectivity.
He said telecommunications operators continued to face varying charges and regulatory requirements across jurisdictions, while fibre-optic cables were sometimes damaged by state and local government authorities during road construction and other civil works.
Yilwatda announced that the APC National Secretariat would work with the Progressive Governors’ Forum and APC state chapters to promote harmonised, cost-reflective right-of-way terms and practical measures to protect telecommunications infrastructure in states governed by the party.
He also called on governors elected on other political platforms to support the initiative, arguing that digital infrastructure should be treated as a national development priority rather than a partisan issue.
“Infrastructure has no party. Our objective should be to create an environment in which every Nigerian, regardless of political affiliation or location, can benefit from the digital economy,” he said.
He further advocated the designation and protection of fibre-optic infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure, warning that vandalism and accidental cable damage could undermine major public and private investments.
Yilwatda commended the Federal Ministries of Works and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy for inaugurating a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables, but urged the extension of the initiative to state and local governments.
He proposed that federal and state road contracts should include provisions for telecommunications ducts and require contractors to identify and protect existing fibre infrastructure before excavation begins.
“Building a road and destroying a broadband link in the same month is not development. It is waste,” he said.
Beyond broadband deployment, Yilwatda said Nigeria must prepare for the growing influence of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data centres, warning against a future in which the country merely consumes technologies developed elsewhere.
“The question for Nigeria is not whether AI will shape our economy. It will. The question is whether we will shape it, or simply rent it,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria had adopted a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, while the Federal Government had unveiled a National Digital Cloud Policy intended to attract approximately $750 million in private investment into cloud and data infrastructure within 24 months, including a target of $250 million in the first year.
He added that government and industry were working towards increasing Nigeria’s data-centre capacity from approximately 50 megawatts to 200 megawatts of information technology load over the next five years.
However, he warned that achieving these targets would require corresponding improvements in electricity supply, given the substantial energy demands of data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“An AI strategy without an energy strategy is incomplete,” he said, advocating the integration of digital infrastructure priorities into national power-sector planning, alongside greater use of embedded generation, renewable power purchase arrangements and reliable gas supply for digital infrastructure clusters.
On data sovereignty and the participation of technology companies in Nigeria’s digital economy, Yilwatda supported the use of certified local providers in public procurement where appropriate, arguing that building domestic capacity and protecting critical data were legitimate national objectives.
He nevertheless cautioned against turning digital sovereignty into protectionism that could raise costs, discourage investment or restrict access to global expertise and technology.
