The National Assembly of Nigeria on Thursday commended the steady growth of the country’s telecommunications sector as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) presented its proposed ₦472 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
Lawmakers gave the commendation during a joint budget defence session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Communications, where the telecom regulator also faced questions over service quality and utilisation of previously approved funds.
The session was chaired by Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, alongside the Chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi.
Presenting the Commission’s proposal, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the (NCC), Aminu Maida, said the regulator is seeking ₦472 billion in total expenditure for 2026 in line with the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
Maida who spoke through the Commission’s Head of Finance, Mr James Kalu, noted that the telecommunications sector recorded a growth rate of 5.17 per cent in 2025, maintaining its position as one of the most resilient contributors to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
He attributed the sector’s performance to increased infrastructure expansion and rising demand for digital services across the country.
According to him, regulatory actions and investments by telecom operators led to the deployment and upgrade of about 2,800 telecom sites nationwide in 2025, boosting network capacity and expanding broadband penetration by six per cent to about 50 per cent nationwide.
The NCC also reported improvements in internet performance indicators during the period, with average data speed rising by about 24 per cent from roughly 16 megabits per second to about 20 megabits per second.
Despite acknowledging the sector’s progress, lawmakers expressed concern over persistent service quality challenges in several parts of the country, including major cities such as Abuja.
They urged the Commission to strengthen regulatory oversight to ensure Nigerians enjoy reliable and affordable telecommunications services.
Legislators also scrutinised the Commission’s financial performance, noting discrepancies between approved budgets and actual spending in the previous fiscal year.
According to the lawmakers, ₦95 billion approved for recurrent expenditure in 2025 saw about ₦73 billion utilised, while only about ₦7 billion of the ₦10 billion allocated for capital projects was spent.
However, the committee commended the NCC for its strong revenue contribution to the Federal Government.
The Commission had initially projected about ₦30 billion in remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2025 but 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 that it would remit ₦207 billion to the Federal Government and transfer ₦20 billion to the Universal Service Provision Fund to support telecom infrastructure expansion in rural and underserved communities.
Beyond financial issues, lawmakers asked the Commission to provide clarification on its long-term digital strategy, including its 2036 roadmap, spectrum management plans, Right-of-Way framework and data retention policies.
In response, the NCC assured lawmakers of its commitment to strengthening regulatory compliance, enhancing consumer protection and expanding telecommunications infrastructure as part of Nigeria’s broader digital transformation agenda.
