Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy , Bosun Tijani said Nigeria needs about 2 billion dollars to lay fiber optic cables across the country.
Dr Tijani who said this on Tuesday said government was doing everything possible to increase the kilometre of fibre optic cables in the country to 95,000.
“We have about 35 to 40 kilometres right now and the goal is to get to 95,000 km. It is going to cost us roughly about $1.5bn to $2bn to wire the entire of Nigeria,” Tijani said.
The minister hoped that under his leadership, the ministry, would in the first four years of the President Bola Tinubu administration, achieve the aspiration of wiring Nigeria.
Speaking when he appeared on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Tijani said:
“I understand, as a minister, that if we prioritize fiber optic cables in this country, the quality of service, whether it’s through your normal mobile telephony or the internet service you use at home, is going to go off the roof, and that’s the commitment I’m also making.
“In the next four years, we are going to do everything to increase the kilometers of fiber optic cables in Nigeria. We are about 35, 000 kilometers away, and we need to go to 95,000 kilometers, almost half way there.
“It’s going to cost roughly 1.5 to 2 billion dollars to wire the whole of Nigeria to reach that 95,000 kilometers.
“We hope we can accelerate in the next 6 to 12 months, secure that funding that private companies can tap into—it’s not government money—and hopefully work with serious companies that can lay fiber over the next two to three years.
“We’re hoping that before the first four years of this administration, a significant portion of that 95,000 kilometers will be covered,” he said.
