The Federal Government will begin the implementation of its 90,000-kilometre nationwide fibre-optic network project in October, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has said.
Tijani said funding had been secured for the project, which is expected to expand Nigeria’s broadband backbone and improve internet and telecommunications access, particularly in communities that are currently underserved or have little or no connectivity.
The minister disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the National Innovation Hub Standards Framework Workshop organised to validate proposed standards, assessment criteria and the implementation approach for innovation hubs across the country.
He said the fibre project was part of President Bola Tinubu’s plan to deepen digital connectivity and provide the infrastructure needed to support Nigeria’s growing digital economy.
“President Bola Tinubu approved that we must deepen connectivity and we’re investing in 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network.
“By the time we are done, it’s going to be either the third or second longest fibre optic network on the African continent, somewhere between what we have in South Africa and Egypt. And this is a project that is starting implementation in October. We have raised the funding for it,” Tijani said.
The October commencement date gives a more specific timeline for Project BRIDGE, an initiative known as Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth.
The project had previously been scheduled to begin implementation in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Under the plan, at least 90,000km of additional fibre will be deployed across the country through a public-private partnership.
The expansion is expected to increase Nigeria’s fibre backbone from about 35,000km to approximately 125,000km when completed.
The government sees the project as a major step towards improving broadband access and reducing the digital divide between urban and rural communities.
Funding for the project has been assembled from several development partners.
The World Bank approved $500m in financing for the initiative in October 2025, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development later committed $100m, alongside a €22m grant from the European Union.
In April 2026, the African Development Bank also approved $200m for Nigeria’s Digital Value Chain Infrastructure for Boosting Employment project, which incorporates Project BRIDGE.
The government has repeatedly identified digital infrastructure as an important part of its plan to diversify the Nigerian economy and reduce dependence on oil and gas.
Speaking at the workshop, Tijani said fibre expansion was only one part of a broader strategy to build the infrastructure required to support the country’s digital economy.
He explained that the government’s strategy had three major layers.
The first layer consists of physical infrastructure such as fibre-optic cables, electricity, telecommunications towers, satellites and data centres.
The second involves digital platforms, including digital identity and payment systems.
The third layer consists of innovators, technology companies and businesses that develop services and products using the infrastructure.
According to the minister, investment in these areas would help businesses operate more efficiently and create opportunities for Nigerians, particularly young people.
He said the government also planned to deploy close to 3,700 telecommunications towers in communities that currently have no network coverage.
“There are over 20 million of those people in this country today living in communities where there’s no access to telecommunications at all,” he said.
The planned towers are expected to help extend mobile and internet services to areas that have remained outside the reach of existing telecommunications infrastructure.
Tijani also said the government planned to renew Nigeria’s communications satellite as part of efforts to improve connectivity.
He explained that satellite technology would be particularly important for areas where it would be difficult or expensive to deploy fibre cables and telecommunications towers.
The minister linked the planned infrastructure investments to the Federal Government’s ambition of growing the Nigerian economy to $1tn.
He said Nigeria could not achieve such an economic target by relying mainly on oil and gas, stressing the need to develop technology-driven businesses capable of creating jobs and generating wealth.
“The bigger our economy gets, the more jobs we create, the more taxes we’re able to capture, the more money we have available to deliver roles and services to our people,” he said.
“And that we cannot achieve just through oil and gas. If we can create more companies like Andela, like Paystack, like Flutterwave, the future of Nigeria is, of course, extremely bright.”
The government’s digital infrastructure drive comes at a time when access to reliable and affordable internet remains a major concern for businesses, students and households across Nigeria.
While major cities have relatively better telecommunications services, many rural and remote communities continue to experience poor network coverage, slow internet speeds and limited access to digital services.
The expansion of fibre infrastructure is expected to provide telecommunications operators and internet service providers with better access to high-capacity broadband infrastructure.
It could also support the growth of online education, digital banking, e-commerce, healthcare services and technology-based businesses.
However, reliable electricity, protection of telecommunications infrastructure and the cost of internet services remain important factors that could affect the impact of the investment.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Abdullahi, said the proposed National Innovation Hub Standards Framework was designed to address differences in the quality and distribution of innovation hubs across the country.
Abdullahi said research had identified more than 339 innovation hubs nationwide, but many of them were concentrated in Lagos, Abuja and a few other states.
“We find it necessary to standardise across the country so that you don’t need to travel from Yola to Yaba for you to grow your business,” he said.
He said the proposed framework contained seven dimensions and about 35 assessment criteria that would allow innovation hubs to assess their strengths and improve their capacity.
According to him, the aim is to help innovation hubs develop into stronger centres capable of supporting startups and entrepreneurs across the country.
Abdullahi also said NITDA was working with the Federal Ministry of Education to integrate digital skills into formal education.
He identified the poor connection between universities and other educational institutions on one hand and industry on the other as one of the major gaps in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
The Acting Head of Partnerships at the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Prof. Leila Ben-Amor, said common standards were needed to sustain the growth of Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.
She said Team Europe and key member states were supporting Nigeria’s digital ecosystem with more than €820m between 2021 and 2027 through initiatives including the EU-Nigeria Digital Package and the Global Gateway Strategy.
“Scale without a common standard is fragile,” Ben-Amor said.
She added that the proposed innovation hub framework could become part of the wider digital architecture being supported by the EU and its development partners.
Representing Denmark’s Consul General to Nigeria, Jette Bjerrum, Senior Programme Manager at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, Nosakhare Ayejimiwo, said a national benchmark would improve the quality and capacity of innovation hubs.
She said the framework would also help government agencies and development partners identify areas where their support was most needed.
Ayejimiwo stressed that successful implementation would require continued cooperation between the government, private sector, development partners, entrepreneurs and innovation hub operators.
With the planned commencement of Project BRIDGE in October, the Federal Government is expected to begin one of its biggest investments in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.