Techeconomy analysis of outage reports from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) network monitoring portal shows that Abuja (FCT), Lagos, Rivers, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Borno, Anambra, Ogun and Akwa Ibom emerged among the states with the highest fibre-related network disruptions during the first quarter of the year.

The incidents, averaging about 65 fibre cuts daily nationwide, disrupted mobile services, broadband connectivity, enterprise operations, fintech transactions, cloud services and digital communications relied upon by millions of Nigerians.

Industry stakeholders say the trend highlights the growing vulnerability of Nigeria’s telecom backbone infrastructure at a time the country is aggressively pursuing broadband expansion, digital payments, e-government services, artificial intelligence adoption and wider digital transformation.

Lagos, Abuja Lead Fibre Cut Incidents

Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory remained among the worst-hit locations largely due to intensive road construction, urban infrastructure projects, cable vandalism and repeated excavation activities damaging underground fibre infrastructure.

Several telecom operators including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, FibreOne, Tizeti, Layer3 and Broadband Communications Network (BCN) reported multiple outages linked to fibre cuts in the two cities during the quarter.

For operators, the challenge is particularly severe because Lagos and Abuja account for a substantial share of Nigeria’s enterprise connectivity, banking infrastructure, cloud services, data traffic and digital business activities.

Industry analysts warn that recurring disruptions in both locations have broader implications for Nigeria’s financial system, digital commerce ecosystem and investor confidence.

Northern States Also Hit

Kano, Kaduna and Borno recorded significant fibre-related disruptions during the period, affecting both consumer connectivity and enterprise services.

Operators attributed many of the incidents to construction activities, infrastructure vandalism, environmental factors and operational challenges in maintaining long-distance fibre routes.

The repeated outages in northern corridors also expose the fragile nature of intercity fibre transmission infrastructure critical for nationwide network resilience.

South-East, South-South Networks Under Pressure

Enugu, Anambra, Rivers and Akwa Ibom also witnessed multiple fibre cuts affecting voice and internet services.

The outages disrupted connectivity for businesses, schools, government institutions and digital service providers operating within the regions.

Industry sources say the growing dependence on digital services means fibre cuts now carry wider economic consequences beyond ordinary telecom disruptions.

The Real Cost of Fibre Cuts

For consumers, the impact often appears as dropped calls, poor internet speeds, failed banking transactions and unstable connectivity.

But for the broader economy, the consequences are far more significant.

Every major fibre cut affects banking systems, ATMs, Point-of-Sale terminals, fintech applications, logistics platforms, hospitals, educational systems, cloud infrastructure and enterprise communications.

As Nigeria’s economy becomes increasingly digitised, network downtime now directly translates into productivity losses, operational delays and revenue disruptions.

Telecom operators are also spending billions of naira annually repairing damaged fibre cables and restoring affected sites, costs that analysts say could otherwise support rural broadband rollout, 5G deployment and network expansion projects.

Why NCC’s CNI Push Matters

The growing scale of fibre cuts is strengthening industry support for the NCC’s Critical National Information Infrastructure protection drive.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier signed an Executive Order designating telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), effectively classifying telecom assets as nationally strategic infrastructure deserving stronger legal protection.

The designation was expected to reduce vandalism, improve coordination around infrastructure projects and strengthen enforcement against negligent destruction of telecom facilities.

However, operators argue that implementation remains weak, especially during road construction projects where fibre cables are frequently damaged by contractors and excavation activities.

Industry executives say many state governments and contractors still fail to properly coordinate with telecom operators before embarking on major infrastructure works.

Threat to Nigeria’s Digital Economy

The fibre cuts crisis comes at a delicate period for Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions.

The Federal Government continues to promote broadband penetration, digital identity systems, fintech growth, cloud computing, AI innovation and e-government services, all heavily dependent on reliable telecom infrastructure.

Analysts warn that unless stronger infrastructure protection measures are enforced, Nigeria risks undermining its digital transformation goals.

The disruptions also raise concerns for sectors increasingly dependent on stable connectivity, including financial services, healthcare, education, e-commerce, logistics and media.

For telecom operators already battling forex volatility, inflation, diesel costs and rising capital expenditure requirements, repeated fibre cuts are becoming both an operational and financial burden.

Industry Pushes for Stronger Enforcement

Telecom stakeholders are now advocating stricter enforcement of CNII protection laws, improved coordination between construction agencies and network operators, adoption of “dig-once” policies and stiffer penalties for vandalism and negligent fibre damage.

Experts say protecting fibre infrastructure must now become a national economic priority, not just a telecom industry concern.

As Nigeria positions itself as Africa’s largest digital economy, the reliability of its telecom infrastructure may ultimately determine how successfully the country can compete in an increasingly connected global economy.

Data obtained by Techeconomy from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) network outage portal showed that the incidents, averaging about 65 fibre cuts daily, disrupted voice, SMS, broadband, enterprise connectivity, fintech operations and digital services across several states during the first quarter of the year.

The figures translate to nearly 1,978 fibre cuts monthly and about 495 weekly, highlighting what industry stakeholders now describe as one of the biggest operational threats facing Nigeria’s digital economy.

Major operators affected during the period included MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, 9mobile, FibreOne, Tizeti, Layer3, Equinix, Broadband Communications Network (BCN), and other infrastructure providers.

The outages were largely linked to road construction activities, accidental cable damage, vandalism, excavation works, bush burning and infrastructure theft.

Industry analysts say the scale of the disruptions underscores the urgent need for stronger implementation of Nigeria’s Critical National Information Infrastructure protection framework, especially as the country accelerates broadband expansion, 5G rollout and digital public infrastructure initiatives.

Telecom Infrastructure under Pressure

For telecom operators, fibre infrastructure serves as the backbone of modern connectivity, supporting mobile networks, internet services, cloud computing, banking platforms, enterprise systems, government digital services and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

A single fibre cut can trigger cascading service failures affecting financial transactions, ATMs, hospitals, logistics systems, security infrastructure and millions of digital users simultaneously.

The recurring incidents are increasingly raising concerns among businesses already battling unstable power supply, rising operating costs and growing dependence on digital platforms.

Several of the most severe outages recorded in Q1 2026 lasted beyond 24 hours, while some network disruptions stretched into days and weeks, particularly in areas affected by ongoing construction activities.

Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Kaduna, Enugu, Borno, Taraba, Anambra and Akwa Ibom were among states most affected by fibre-related outages during the quarter.

Why the NCC’s CNI Push Matters

The latest figures strengthen ongoing efforts by the NCC and industry stakeholders to secure telecom assets under Nigeria’s Critical National Information Infrastructure framework.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier signed an Executive Order designating telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure, giving telecom assets similar national importance status as oil pipelines, power infrastructure and security installations.

The designation was expected to reduce vandalism, improve coordination around infrastructure projects and strengthen enforcement against deliberate destruction of telecom facilities.

However, operators say implementation remains weak, particularly around road construction projects where fibre cables are frequently damaged during excavation works.

Telecom companies have repeatedly complained about poor coordination between contractors, state agencies and infrastructure operators, leading to repeated service disruptions and rising maintenance costs.

Industry executives estimate that operators spend billions of naira annually repairing damaged fibre infrastructure, resources that could otherwise be invested in network expansion, rural broadband deployment and service quality improvements.

Digital Economy at Risk

As stated by Dr. Aminu Maida, EVC/CEO of NCC as a recent workshop for judges, the fibre cuts crisis is emerging at a critical period for Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions.

The Federal Government continues to push for deeper broadband penetration, fintech expansion, digital identity systems, e-government services and artificial intelligence adoption, all of which depend heavily on stable telecom infrastructure.

Analysts warn that unless telecom infrastructure protection becomes fully integrated into national infrastructure planning, Nigeria risks undermining its digital transformation goals.

Repeated outages also threaten investor confidence within the telecommunications sector at a time operators are already contending with forex volatility, inflation, diesel costs and increasing capital expenditure requirements.

For businesses and consumers, however, the impact remains immediate: dropped calls, failed online transactions, slower internet speeds, interrupted digital services and prolonged downtime.

Industry stakeholders are therefore advocating stronger enforcement of CNII protection measures, adoption of “dig-once” policies during road construction, improved collaboration between government agencies and telecom operators, and stiffer penalties for vandalism and negligent infrastructure damage.

As Nigeria’s economy becomes increasingly digitised, experts say fibre infrastructure can no longer be treated as ordinary telecom equipment.

Instead, it is now viewed as strategic national infrastructure critical to economic productivity, financial stability, security and digital inclusion.

According to the latest market data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), broadband penetration reached a new peak by March 2026, reflecting a year-on-year increase compared to the same period in 2025.

Nigeria’s broadband penetration continued its upward trajectory in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting steady improvements in digital infrastructure, mobile connectivity, and data consumption patterns.

As of March 2026, broadband penetration reached 54.30%, up from 51.97% recorded in December 2025, which is a 2.32% in the first quarter 2026, signaling gradual but consistent growth beyond the 50% threshold.

In absolute terms, broadband subscriptions climbed to approximately 117,710,397, driven largely by mobile broadband adoption across GSM networks.

Key Drivers of Growth

The expansion of broadband penetration in Q1 2026 can be attributed to several factors, such as the mobile-first internet access nature of the country.

Over 99% of broadband connections in Nigeria are mobile-based, making smartphones the primary gateway to connectivity.

4G remains the leading technology, while 5G adoption is gradually increasing, while rapid urbanisation, especially in cities like Lagos, continues to push demand for high-speed connectivity.

Despite the progress, industry watchers believe there are lots of rooms for growth like reducing the persistent challenges of infrastructure deficits in rural areas, high cost of right-of-way charges, power supply constraints, and limited fibre backbone penetration.

Government interventions

Last month, Dr. Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman NCC announced major initiatives to address quality of service (QoS) challenges by increasing the number of base stations in Nigeria.

Key Highlights on Base Station Expansion (2026):

He said the Commission is targeting the upgrade of 12,000 base stations in 2026 to improve network capacity, enhance data speeds, and transition legacy 2G/3G sites to 4G and 5G.

As of late April 2026, approximately 2,800 upgrades have already been completed, following a low-performing 2025 where only around 300 upgrades were recorded.

The NCC’s initiative aims to alleviate congestion caused by rapidly rising data consumption, which has made existing infrastructure inadequate.

CNI: 

On the issue of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) protection, Maida said that NCC is collaborating with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to secure existing sites, addressing issues such as generator theft and securing Right of Way (RoW) for new installations.

On the issue of poor quality of service, the EVC stated that operators who fail to meet service benchmarks will face penalties, which will be used to compensate subscribers.

Outlook

Broadband penetration is expected to continue rising in 2026, but at a moderate pace, unless structural bottlenecks are addressed. Policy reforms, infrastructure investments, and spectrum efficiency will determine whether Nigeria can accelerate toward universal broadband access.

NITRA, the umbrella Association for technology reporters in Nigeria, in a statement announcing a joint-industry forum, being organized in collaboration with the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), noted that mere declaration of the CNII order cannot solely guarantee infrastructure safety except certain internal and standardisation issues are first resolved by operators, further disclosed that the forum will bring stakeholders together to address pertinent issues and questions begging for answers.

Scheduled to hold at CitiHeight Hotel, Ikeja on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, the event, tagged “Industry Sustainability And CNII Conference 2025 – Way Forward” will gather stakeholders to discuss the practical way forward, noting that passage of the Bill along will not achieve desired results.

According to the organisers, questions that stakeholders will provide answers to at the event include:

• How do we ensure that this law is implemented to the letter?
• Are there areas worth looking into once more, or is the Bill perfect as it is?
• What are the roles of each stakeholder in the industry – Federal, States, Operators, Consumers, and other actors?
• Are individual telecom companies and service providers keying into the CNNI provisions, and how?
• What are the roles of regulators in ensuring public compliance to the Bill?
• How do we ensure security?
• What is the place of collaboration?
• Publicity: how much of the CNII provisions are the public aware of?
• How can we sustain the growth and development of telecommunications in Nigeria?

The Panel Discussion sessions will look into some of the questions arising from industry sustainability and CNII implementation.

Expected at the event are the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, network operators, security agencies, regulators, the media, infrastructure companies and decision makers in private and public firms, among other guests.

According to a statement from NITRA, “It is a known fact that the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) is crucial to the survivability of a nation, and that the destruction or disruption of these systems and communication networks would significantly affect the economic strength, image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety.”

Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, had in a forum stressed the importance of proper infrastructure maintenance and tech-upgraded installation to prevent vandalism and theft.

He highlighted the widespread issue of stolen manhole covers, fibre cables and poles; community resistance to infrastructure projects; unauthorised installation of infrastructure without government approval; malicious destruction of telecom infrastructure; among other challenges to be curbed.

Chairman of NITRA, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, spoke of the importance of the Industry Sustainability and CNII Conference, noting that industry stakeholders need to come around a table to broker an understanding on how to secure telecom infrastructure, standing on FG’s proclamation of CNII.

He noted that with the CNII Bill in place, stakeholders will have to formulate measures to take to implement the provisions of the Bill and enforce compliance. These he disclosed, will be the outcome of the forum to be held in Lagos.

According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum, which will have other industry Associations also make their inputs, will afford the public opportunity to share their thoughts, especially as it regards the security of infrastructure in their localities.

IHS Nigeria is part of the IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) (“IHS Towers”) group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count.

The meeting was organized by IHS Nigeria to develop a multi-stakeholder action plan for the protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) assets in Lagos state.

Recognizing the importance of communications infrastructure as the backbone of national security, economic growth and social cohesion, the stakeholders at the meeting convened under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) agreed on the urgent need for collaborative solutions to ensure the protection of these vital assets.

The meeting was attended by senior representatives from the telecommunications stakeholder groups and regulatory bodies including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA).

Also in attendance were representatives from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and InfraCos as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security agency tasked with the protection of Critical National Infrastructure across the country.

Following extensive deliberations, the stakeholders resolved to establish a working group dedicated to addressing key industry challenges, including the vandalization and theft of telecommunications infrastructure, arbitrary shutdown of base stations, fiber cuts due to road construction and the denial of access by unauthorized individuals by leveraging technology for real-time monitoring and protection, strengthening security measures around telecommunication sites and collaborating more with the security and regulatory agencies to mitigate these challenges.

The stakeholders underscored the need to prioritize deterrence and prevention of these incidents and highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns to sensitize the host communities and public of the need to protect telecommunications infrastructure in their localities.

Dapo Otunla, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria, commented,

“The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders. We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact on the quality of service delivered to subscribers. Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations.”

Causes of these fiber cuts, according to industry players, are primarily related to government and private sector construction activities, accounting for almost 80% of terrestrial cable cuts.

Fishing trawlers, dredgers, oil companies, and vessel activities have also been identified as contributing significantly to disruptions in subsea cables.

Thus, the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) further highlighted fibre cuts as major stumbling blocks to the Nigerian telecom sector’s growth, and recommended ‘Dig Once Policy’ as solution to this challenge.

Similarly, the association affirmed its readiness to rally its members take strategic measures to tackle submarine fibre disruption in the country.

Tony Emoekpere, the president of ATCON, at the first edition of ATCON’s Critical Conversation Breakfast Meeting held in Lagos with the theme: ‘the Direct And Indirect Cause And Impact Of Metro, Terrestrial And Submarine Fibre Disruptions (Cuts)–Short, Medium And Long Term Sustainable Solutions’, stated that, operators cannot continue to pay lip service to issues and challenges that have constituted stumbling block to the telecom sector growth.

Fibre Cuts and Associated Financial Losses

The president recall that few months ago, there was a reported case of subsea cable cuts which significantly impacted Nigeria and some African countries, adding that,

“The incidences of Metro, Terrestrial and Submarine Fibre Disruptions have become a recurring decimal which must be addressed by relevant agencies at all levels of government. Our members have had to pay a substantial amount of money to have all these disruptions fixed and this is impacting on their operational expenses which should not be if the perpetrators are brought to book.”

On advocacy, the president said ATCON is seeking ways going forward, adding that ducts should be built when new roads are being constructed.

“There is a need to enforce and implement the provision in the Nigeria National Broadband Band Plan 2020-2025 which states that NCC should have a desk officer in each state of the Federation who is expected to be in charge of the fiber network in order to minimize Fiber cuts during roads construction,” he recommended.

The president averred that the telecom sector has been reported to contribute over 14 per cent to the nation’s GDP, adding that, the sector could have done much better if issues like fiber disruption which has constituted a threat to the manifestation of its inherent potentials, is dealt with.

Critical National Infrastructure Protection

Emoekpere however stressed the need for more collaboration between telecoms operators and government, with developers and road contractors to mitigate the challenges of fiber cuts.

“There must be compensation for fibre cable cuts. Training and awareness creation on the importance of fibre cable and the danger and negative impact of fibre cable cut, cannot be overemphasised. The federal government should declare telecoms assets as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

“Government should come up with policies like ‘Dig Once Policy’ for the implementation of fibre laying to avoid operators damaging cables of other operators during cable laying. There must be a clear database of government agencies giving approvals for road construction to enable telecom companies to have an idea of who they are dealing with as well as the need to have a status update on task responsibilities of ATCON for a follow-up of ATCON activities,” he advocated.

In the same vein, the CEO of NetAccess, Lekan Balogun said, the major causes of fibre cable cut includes Govt/Private Contractors, man-made, planning and Design and Natural causes, while stressing that, there is need for constant engagement between ATCON members, the government and developers.

Balogun proposed short, medium and long term recommendations to forestall fibre cuts, adding that the use of protective materials like metals rather than plastics will help protect the cables from unwanted cuts.

ATCON members at the breakfast series widely agreed that the government has a crucial role to play in protecting telecoms infrastructure through the passage of the Critical National Infrastructure bill, promoting inter-agency cooperation, increasing awareness, and aligning certification for fiber optic service providers.

Although the National Broadband Plan was praised as a good policy, stakeholders suggested closer monitoring of its implementation to ensure its success.

Some photos at the event:

During a panel session moderated by Mr. Wole Abu, the chief executive officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, industry experts unanimously agreed that the Lagos- Calabar coastal highway project is also a major risk to the integrity of the submarine cables as all landing stations are on the seashore of the Lagos end where construction has started from.

“Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, could experience another internet outage if these cables are damaged during construction. This would have a severe impact on the economy, particularly on financial services and other sectors relying on digital infrastructure. Therefore, it is imperative for the government to engage continuously with ATCON to mitigate the risks associated with this construction activity”, Abu said.

They agreed that there is ample room for collaboration between telecom companies internally and with government agencies such as NIMASA, NIWA, FMWH and the Navy to monitor and provide support for submarine cable systems.

“It is crucial that a concerted effort is made today to secure our digital future”.

Meanwhile, the telecommunications industry has come a long way, contributing more than 14% of Nigeria’s GDP and poised for hypergrowth with the emerging technology trends.

A breakthrough in telephone infrastructure emerged in January 2001 when the sector was totally liberalised, paving the way for the licensing of private telecoms operators to offer telephone services previously the exclusive territory of the government-owned Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its subsidiary, M-Tel, which had attempted to offer mobile, albeit analogue services.

The licensing of private operators was the result of a week-long spectrum auction, code-named Digital Mobile Licensing (DML) Auction, which took place in January 2001, in Abuja, and conducted, by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The DML auction and licensing introduced serious competition, among local and foreign giants for the soul of Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.

History showed that the journey actually started with several interested parties including MSI-Celtel, MTN, Econet, CIL, M-Tel, among others.

From 400,000 lines to 297m connected telephone users. The efforts of players paved the way for the transformation in the sector, which later saw investment to the tune of over $75 billion within the last two decades.

These investments are traceable to mobile towers, VSAT turnkey networks, fibre optic infrastructure backbones, data centres, call centres and service centres spread out across the country.

Also, landing stations for international subsea cables went up from one to about five, changing the communications landscape and making voice, data, and video and Internet services available at the fingertips of Nigerians.

As at August 2023, there are 220.7 million telephony subscriptions which have pushed Nigeria’s teledensity to over 115.63 per cent. The country can also boast of 159 million Internet users.

While operators have leveraged the different infrastructure to provide services, the sector has equally not failed to contribute significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In fact, it has lifted the economy out of recession on several occasions.

Statistics from NCC shows telecoms’ contribution to GDP as at Q3 2023 was 13.50 per cent. Despite the decline in the quarter based on YoY data, however, statistics are there to show, telecoms contribution has been crucial in maintaining economic stability even during the COVID-19 era.

There are still challenges. Despite these contributions to the economy, gaps and challenges remain. Nigerians are still grappling with poor quality of service (QoS), access gaps, Right of Way (RoW) charges, multiple taxations, transparency, issues around market dominance dilemma and more.

There are still 115 access gaps as at 2022, where some 27 million Nigerian are still without basic telephony services.

The coming of Dr. Aminu Maida: Is he the right man for the job?

President Bola Tinubu must be commended for his tactical move in the appointment of Dr. Aminu Maida as the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the strong backing of Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy.

Aside the high trust level, a lot of factors point to the fact that Dr. Maida is the right man for the job.

With a solid academic background, Dr. Maida holds a MEng in Information Systems Engineering from Imperial College London, a Ph.D. Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Bath University UK as well a Post Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship from Cambridge Judge Business School.

His educational credentials have played an instrumental role in shaping his ability to tackle complex technical challenges and devise robust, future-proof strategies.

Dr. Maida’s technical prowess is further evidenced by the numerous patents he holds to his name in the areas of wireless communication and self organsing networks.

Throughout his career, Dr. Aminu Maida has held various leadership positions in top-tier organizations.

He has successfully managed teams of engineers, developers, and researchers, fostering a collaborative and innovative work environment.

His expertise in strategic planning, business development and project management has contributed significantly to the growth and expansion of the companies he has worked with.

Dr. Maida is an active participant in industry conferences and forums, where he shares his insights and experience with fellow professionals.

He is committed to the ongoing advancement of technology in the telecommunication and payments sectors, mentoring young professionals, and contributing to research that shapes the future of these industries.

In summary, Dr. Aminu Maida is a seasoned technology executive with a proven track record of success in the telecommunication and payments industries. His vast experience, strong leadership skills, and commitment to innovation make him a valuable asset to Nigeria and telecoms sector in particular as we seek to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape.

He has done before. As Executive Director, Tech & Ops., the heartbeat of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS), in delivering its core mandate of providing shared services to the Nigerian e-payments ecosystem, Dr. Aminu spearheaded the provisioning of global technical and strategic direction for the highly service oriented organization.

On joining NIBSS in 2019 he setup a cross functional team that identified tactical measures to restore platform stability and build ecosystem confidence successfully as demonstrated by the ~36% CAGR in transaction volumes since 2019 whilst maintaining stability.

Prior to his appointment as the EVC/CEO of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida oversaw a $30m+ digital transformation at NIBSS to modernise the platforms by taking advantage of Cloud technologies, APIs 1st approach and adopting an Agile/DevOps culture.

Dr. Aminu is an infrastructure man. As the Chief Technology Officer, ARCA Payments, he was responsible for all infrastructure, system development, platform operations and customer support covering smart Android based PoS devices and cloud based account/QR/card switching infrastructure.

He understands that the growth of telecommunications in Nigeria depends on how robust the infrastructure become.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has put the number of masts and towers in the industry at 40,451 as at 2022. Now, with launch Nigeria has growing need for cell towers. The country needs not less than 40,000 additional cell towers.

While investments are needed in the infrastructure segment; towers, fibre optic cables, smartphones, etc., there is greater challenge of ensuring the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) protection.

Dr. Aminu also has to reassure investors of government’s backing such that their indigenous investors shall remain in business as foreign counterparts can repatriate their funds without harassments or intimidation.

Again, looking at what Dr. Aminu Maida did as the Consultant Lead Technical Designer, Special Projects, British Telecoms UK, providing technical consultancy to UK Home Office on design and deployment of replacement systems for mission critical communications for use by UK emergency responders, then, his choice as EVC/CEO of NCC by President Tinubu, was strategic!

Before his Cisco Systems UK days, Dr. Aminu worked as the Smallcells Design Consultant, EE Ltd UK (Merger of Orange UK & TMobile UK).

He was the technical lead for implementation of strategic indoor coverage solutions for service provider. Major tasks/achievements included.

He managed entire technical RFI process including preparation of RFI document with inputs from relevant departments, assessment/scoring of vendor responses and providing recommendations to project steerco.

Responsible for High/Low level designs of security & access gateways, OSS nodes and customer provisioning nodes covering solution resiliency, dimensioning, service profiles, mobility, emergency call strategy, expansion strategy etc.

Interestingly, Dr. Aminu was pioneer staff member of a 3G/LTE small cell development company, the Systems Engineer, UbiquiSys Ltd UK (acquired by Cisco Systems in 2013).

We have a man who understands Quality of Service. Industry players should expect a great change, probably KPIs in this regard. With the backing of the Federal Government and MNOs, Dr. Aminu can do it again; he led systems analysis effort at Systems Engineer, UbiquiSys Ltd., for development of Self-Optimising Network (SON) algorithms which addressed key deployment issues.

This involved requirements/data gathering, spreadsheet modelling, design/test documentations and coordinating peer reviews.

SON functionality currently activated in full commercial smallcell deployments by tier 1 EMEA mobile operators. Several key patents filed as a result of work.

In conclusion, Dr. Aminu Maida is a highly accomplished technology executive with extensive experience spanning across the telecommunication and payments industries.

Throughout his illustrious career, he has consistently demonstrated his expertise in leading cutting-edge innovations, managing cross-functional teams, and driving growth for businesses in competitive markets.

As a result, he has earned a reputation for being a forward-thinking leader with a keen eye for spotting industry trends and implementing groundbreaking solutions.