The National Assembly has commended the steady growth of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) presented a proposed ₦472 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
The commendation came during a joint budget defence session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Communications on Thursday. Lawmakers, however, also raised concerns about persistent service quality issues and the utilisation of funds approved for the Commission in previous budgets.
The session was presided over by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Hon. Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi, according to news reports.
Presenting the proposal, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the Commission is seeking a total expenditure of ₦472 billion for 2026 in line with the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Maida, who was represented by the Commission’s Head of Finance, James Kalu, disclosed that Nigeria’s telecommunications sector recorded a growth rate of 5.17 per cent in 2025, maintaining its position as one of the strongest contributors to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to him, the sector’s growth was driven by continued infrastructure expansion and increasing demand for digital services across the country.
He revealed that regulatory actions and investments by telecom operators led to the deployment and upgrade of about 2,800 telecom sites nationwide in 2025, helping to boost network capacity and raise broadband penetration by six per cent to about 50 per cent.
The Commission also reported improvement in internet performance, with average data speeds increasing by about 24 per cent, rising from roughly 16 megabits per second to around 20 megabits per second.
Despite the sector’s progress, lawmakers expressed concern over persistent service quality challenges in some parts of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. They urged the NCC to intensify regulatory oversight to ensure Nigerians receive more reliable and affordable telecommunications services.
Legislators also examined the Commission’s financial performance, noting gaps between approved budgets and actual expenditure in the previous fiscal year. Of the ₦95 billion approved for recurrent expenditure in 2025, about ₦73 billion was utilised, while ₦7 billion of the ₦10 billion allocated for capital projects was spent.
However, the committees commended the NCC for its strong revenue contribution to the Federal Government. While the Commission initially projected ₦30 billion in remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2025, it eventually remitted ₦102 billion.
For the 2026 fiscal year, the NCC proposed ₦424 billion for recurrent expenditure and ₦15 billion for capital and special projects.
The Commission also projected it would remit ₦207 billion to the Federal Government and transfer ₦20 billion to the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to support telecommunications infrastructure development in rural and underserved communities.
Lawmakers further requested clarification on the Commission’s long-term digital strategy, including its 2036 sector roadmap, spectrum management plans, Right-of-Way framework, and data retention policies.
In response, the NCC assured the National Assembly of its commitment to strengthening regulatory compliance, improving consumer protection, and expanding telecommunications infrastructure as part of Nigeria’s broader digital transformation agenda.
