Written by
Ishioma Appiah-Yeboah
The Federal Government has directed major telecom operators, including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom and 9mobile, to urgently improve the quality of their services, insisting that Nigerians must begin to experience better call clarity, stronger data connections, and wider network coverage.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, issued the directive in a statement, stressing that the conditions for improved telecom services in the country have now been firmly established.
He explained that government has addressed long-standing structural challenges in the sector, including poor infrastructure and years of underinvestment that weakened network performance nationwide.
According to him, a dual strategy is already underway. In the long term, the Federal Government has secured funding through the World Bank-backed Project BRIDGE to deploy nationwide open-access fibre infrastructure, alongside new telecom tower expansion under NUCAP and improved satellite connectivity.
These projects, he said, will significantly transform Nigeria’s digital landscape within the next two to five years.
In the short term, the Minister said the government has stabilised the sector through key reforms, including tariff adjustments, the classification of telecom infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, tax harmonisation efforts, and broader macroeconomic measures.
He noted that these interventions have helped restore financial stability to telecom operators, giving them the capacity to upgrade and fix network challenges that have long affected users.
Tijani stressed that while government has provided the enabling environment, the responsibility now rests squarely on operators to deliver results.
He also confirmed that the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC has been fully empowered to monitor service quality, enforce standards, and take regulatory action where operators fail to meet expectations.
Going forward, the Minister said the government will closely track performance using NCC reports and public feedback from Nigerians across various platforms.
He assured that where operators improve service delivery, they will be recognised, but where they fail, regulatory action will be taken.
For millions of Nigerians who depend on mobile and internet services for business, education, and daily communication, the government says the expectation is clear: better service quality must now translate into reality.