Nigeria Now Uses 29% of Africa’s Internet Access

The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, on Monday revealed that Nigeria currently uses 29 percent of Africa’s total internet access, with a rise in the growth rate from 11 percent in 2013 to 52 percent in 2014.

Before the creation of the ministry in 2011, she admitted that the country was down in the United Nations (UN) e-government development ranking, adding that today, the country has moved up in the ranking.

This upward movement, according to her, is a welcome development, because ICT is now being deployed in both the public and private sectors for effective service delivery.

“One of the most important tools of ICT that have impacted the lives of Nigerians is access to broadband internet, especially mobile broadband.” the Minister stated.

Johnson, who was represented by the Director, e-Ggovernment, Mr. Tope Folashedemi, made the disclosure at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Abuja.

According to her, the country had a combined fixed and mobile telephone subscription of over 400,000 lines between independence in 1960 and 2001, but in just 14 years after the licensing of the mobile operators, it recorded over 148 million connected lines with a teledensity of about 97 percent.

The Minister explained that government is planning to get all its cities connected to the internet through its broadband initiative, adding that already many state governments are keying in to its national broadband plan which is to make broadband ubiquitous across the country in no distant future.

Johnnson said: “To further deepen the use and penetration of broadband to communities across the country, the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), approved the allocation of portions of the radio frequency spectrum to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to eligible operators.”