Minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, has said the federal government will begin rolling out its planned 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network within the next few weeks as part of efforts to expand broadband access and strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy.
He stated this after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Tijani said the government had concluded resource mobilisation and contractual processes for the nationwide project, clearing the way for physical deployment.
“We’re now at the point where in a few weeks’ time, we should start to lay the fibre so people will start seeing us around the country deploying the fibre. This is going to transform Nigeria for good,” the minister said.
Tijani pointed out that the project would extend fibre optic infrastructure to every state, geopolitical zone, local government area, and ward.
According to him, “This is a project where every state, every geopolitical zone, every local government and every ward in this country will be covered with fibre optic cables, which will transform the quality of connectivity.”
The minister attributed recent growth in the telecommunications sector to reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, including the designation of digital infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, telecoms tariff adjustments, and tax harmonisation.
The minister also said the government plans to begin deploying about 3,700 telecommunications towers from October to improve mobile network coverage in underserved communities.
He said the project, approved by the president, is expected to provide connectivity for more than 20 million Nigerians currently without reliable network access.
Tijani also announced that Nigeria will launch a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, saying it will assign a unique address to every property in the country.
He said the system would improve logistics, boost e-commerce, enhance emergency response, and strengthen public service delivery.
Tijani said the alphanumeric postcode is unique because “it allows us to have unique addresses for every property. That will change the game significantly for Nigeria in terms of the delivery of public services.”
