FG approves two satellites to spice up digital economic system

The Federal Authorities has accredited the acquisition of two new communication satellites to spice up Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and assist President Bola Tinubu’s plan to develop the economic system to $1tn.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at a press convention to mark International Privateness Day 2026, organised by the Nigerian Information Safety Fee.

Tijani stated the approval marked a major shift in Nigeria’s digital technique, noting that the nation presently stands out in West Africa for missing lively communication satellites, a spot the brand new belongings are anticipated to deal with.

He stated, “As you realize, Mr President has been very clear about his ambition to construct a $1tn economic system, and digital know-how is central to reaching that imaginative and prescient.

“However I feel most significantly, one that may come out to wrap your thoughts, that the President has now accredited that we must always procure two new satellites. Nigeria at present is the one nation in West Africa with non-communication satellites. And we’ve been given the go-ahead to acquire two new ones, guaranteeing that we will use that satellite tv for pc to attach.”

He additionally stated progress had been made on the Federal Authorities’s flagship 90,000-kilometre fibre optic spine challenge, which is aimed toward increasing broadband entry throughout the nation. Based on the minister, about 60 per cent of the fibre challenge has been accomplished, whereas funding for the remaining work has already been secured.

“The 90,000 kilometres fibre optic challenge is just not a dream. About 60 per cent of the work has already been accomplished, and the funding for the challenge is safe. As we convey extra Nigerians on-line, connectivity with out safety is incomplete. Privateness is the muse of belief, security, and sustainability within the digital world.

“The success of Nigeria’s digital economic system will rely not simply on infrastructure and expertise, however on belief, and the NDPC stays central to constructing that belief,” the minister stated.

Tijani stated the Tinubu administration was positioning digital know-how as a key driver of inclusive progress, improved public service supply, and long-term financial enlargement, including that investments had been additionally being channelled into digital abilities, rural connectivity, and institutional reforms.

He pressured that the enlargement of connectivity have to be matched with stronger information safety, particularly as Nigeria’s younger and digitally lively inhabitants continues to develop. He described the NDPC as central to the nation’s digital transformation, saying belief and privateness had been essential to sustaining innovation.

Tijani stated President Tinubu signalled early dedication to information safety by signing the Nigerian Information Safety Fee Act into regulation shortly after assuming workplace.

In the meantime, Nigeria’s information safety sector has grown right into a N16.2bn business, producing 1000’s of jobs and strengthening investor confidence, the Nationwide Commissioner of the NDPC, Mr Vincent Olatunji, has stated.

Talking on the similar occasion in Abuja, Olatunji attributed the expansion to stricter regulation following the enactment of the Nigeria Information Safety Act 2023. He stated the sector had thus far generated greater than N5.2bn in compliance income and created over 23,000 jobs nationwide.

Based on him, compliance oversight now cuts throughout the private and non-private sectors, with 38,677 Information Controllers and Information Processors of Main Significance registered beneath the regulation, alongside 307 licensed Information Safety Compliance Organisations.

He added that 8,155 compliance audit returns had been submitted, whereas 246 information breach investigations had been concluded, leading to 11 enforcement actions, together with fines and remediation directives.

Olatunji stated the fee lately issued the Basic Software and Implementation Directive to make clear enforcement procedures, whereas the Information Safety Act had additionally been translated into three main Nigerian languages to enhance public understanding.

He famous that Nigeria’s strengthening information safety framework had improved the nation’s attraction to international traders, as unbiased information safety authorities are actually a key requirement for cross-border enterprise partnerships.

The commissioner stated Nigeria had additionally gained worldwide recognition, successful the Picasso Award for Finest Information Safety Authority in Africa and securing membership of our bodies such because the International Privateness Meeting and the Community of African Information Safety Authorities.

On capability constructing, he stated the fee had organised 168 coaching programmes with greater than 104,000 beneficiaries, launched the primary Nationwide Information Safety Officer Certification Examination, licensed 494 professionals, and launched youth-focused digital privateness initiatives.

He stated the milestones type a part of actions for the 2026 Nationwide Privateness Week, scheduled for January 28 to February 4, with the theme, “Privateness within the Age of Rising Applied sciences: Belief, Ethics and Innovation.”

Outlining its priorities for the 12 months, Olatunji stated the fee will step up enforcement of the Nigeria Information Safety Act, together with sanctions in opposition to organisations that fail to conform, whereas additionally scaling up nationwide consciousness to deepen public understanding of information safety and privateness.

He added that the NDPC will present clearer steerage and hands-on assist to organisations on information safety finest practices, alongside strengthening capability constructing via the certification of pros beneath the Nationwide Information Safety Officer Certification programme to align Nigeria’s information safety practices with international requirements.

The PidomNigeria earlier reported that the Nigerian Communications Fee introduced plans to leverage satellite tv for pc know-how to increase cell protection to an estimated 23.3 million Nigerians who stay underserved by terrestrial networks.

Satellite tv for pc-to-phone service, also referred to as direct-to-device or direct-to-cell connectivity, permits customary smartphones to attach on to satellites for calls, texts, and information with out counting on terrestrial cell towers, bridging protection gaps in distant areas.

In a session paper revealed on its web site, the regulator stated the transfer is aimed toward bridging persistent connectivity gaps highlighted in its 2024 cluster hole research, which recognized 87 clusters the place service stays restricted.

The fee famous that advances in satellite tv for pc and non-terrestrial community applied sciences now make it potential for cell units to attach on to satellites, providing a possible answer for areas the place conventional infrastructure is tough or pricey to deploy.