Abuja, May 20, 2025 – The Nigeria’s telecommunication sector attracted $191million in foreign direct investment in Q1 2024, from $22 million achieved in Q1 2023.
Dr Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, disclosed this during an interview for an upcoming State House documentary marking President Tinubu’s second anniversary.
According to a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, a Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the minister attributed the achievement to the reforms undertaken by current administration.
“These foundational reforms, coupled with advancements in artificial intelligence and the startup ecosystem, have positioned Nigeria as a global leader in the digital economy.
“In Q1 2023, the sector had about $22m; by Q1 2024, with this administration well underway, we reached $191m. The trend continued in Q2, increasing from $25m in 2023 to $114m in 2024,” he said.
The minister particularly mentioned by the three million technical talent (3MTT), amongst others for the achievement.
He said the 3MTT programme, which was launched in October 2023, had already trained over 117,000 Nigerians in digital skills, surpassing its initial target of 30,000.
“By last year, we had already moved that to over 117,000. With an additional 35,000 in training, the programme is nearing 10 per cent of its 3m goal. And in the rest of the time in office, we hope to reach the three million,” he said.
Tijani said the ministry was also deploying 90,000km of fibre optic cable to improve telecommunication access across the country which will commence in the fourth quarter.
“We are preparing a $2 billion investment to ensure every Nigerian can access affordable, high-quality connectivity regardless of location. Increasing connectivity hubs by just 10 per cent could yield a 2.5 per cent GDP growth,” he said.
The minister said over 7,000 telecom towers would be deployed across the country in the bid to bridge internet connectivity that would achieve 98 per cent nationwide coverage.
He commended the progress already archived on Right-of-Way issues as 12 states had already stopped collecting Right-of-Way charges.
Tijani said that Nigeria is currently ranked among the world’s top 60 countries for AI readiness and for developing a homegrown large language model.
He said over 500 government technologists had been trained in AI and Digital Public Infrastructure, and the groundbreaking Digital Economy Bill has passed its first reading in the National Assembly
The minister also highlighted the AI Collective platform which was supported by leading partners including Pierre Omidyar, Google, and Microsoft, to foster collaboration and innovation in artificial intelligence.
He said his ultimate objective is to increase the contribution of the telecom sector to the GDP from the current 16 per cent to 22 per cent.
