By Funmilola Gboteku
Telecommunications industry veterans say regulatory independence, strong enabling laws, and stakeholder consultation remain critical to sustaining Nigeria’s digital economy and attracting long-term investment into the sector.
The experts spoke during a panel session at the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 Review Workshop organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Lagos on Wednesday.
The Former Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Ernest Ndukwe, said regulators must remain protected from political and administrative interference to sustain investor confidence.
According to Ndukwe, experience from Nigeria’s telecommunications reforms showed that effective regulation depended heavily on institutional independence, decisive leadership, stakeholder engagement, and consistent implementation of sector-wide policies.
“Regulators must be protected from political and administrative interference in order to maintain the confidence of investors, consumers, and other stakeholders,” he said.
Ndukwe explained that telecommunications development in Nigeria began in 1886, with the laying of the first telegraph cable by a British telecoms company.
He said Nigeria had only about 18,724 fixed telephone lines at independence in 1960, reflecting decades of limited infrastructure investment and weak telecommunications expansion nationwide.
According to him, the establishment of the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) in 1984 was aimed at commercialising telecommunications services and improving nationwide connectivity levels.
Ndukwe said that NITEL struggled to meet growing demand, while service quality remained poor and infrastructure expansion continued at a painfully slow pace for decades.
He stated that by 2000, fewer than 200,000 ordinary Nigerians had access to telephone services in spite of Nigeria’s estimated population of about 120 million people at the time.
“The number of connected lines grew at an average of about 1,250 subscribers per month. This was clearly inadequate and embarrassing,” he said.
Ndukwe noted that Nigeria ranked among countries with the lowest teledensity globally, before reforms introduced under former President Olusegun Obasanjo transformed the sector.
He explained that Decree 75 of 1992 established the NCC and separated policymaking, regulation, and operational responsibilities within Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.
According to him, political uncertainty and policy inconsistencies initially discouraged major foreign investment, while partial liberalisation failed to attract sufficient infrastructure and technology expansion nationwide.
Ndukwe said the major turning point came after Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, when telecommunications was identified as a national development priority requiring urgent reforms.
He explained that a multi-stakeholder committee chaired by the vice-president developed the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 to support liberalisation, investment, and rapid infrastructure growth nationwide.
Following the release of the policy, Ndukwe said the NCC opened all segments of the telecoms market to competition, including previously monopolised national and international telecom services.
“The process was not easy at the time. However, by 2001, competitive operators had been licensed to provide digital mobile services,” he said.
Ndukwe added that liberalisation improved service quality, encouraged affordable pricing, expanded network coverage, increased investment inflows, and contributed significantly to Nigeria’s economic growth and digital transformation.
Reflecting on lessons from the reforms, he identified strong enabling laws, regulatory independence, and stakeholder consultation as three major pillars supporting long-term sectoral growth and sustainability.
According to him, regulators must avoid excessive delays in decision-making because prolonged uncertainty can discourage investment and slow future telecommunications infrastructure development across the country.
“You cannot simply sit in an office and make decisions about the future of the sector without engaging those who operate within it,” he added.
Also speaking, Dr Steven Adzenge, a former Director at the NCC, stressed the importance of collaboration among regulators, institutions, operators, and other stakeholders in developing the next telecommunications policy framework.
Adzenge said the era of convergence required stronger coordination among institutions, instead of multiple regulators operating independently across interconnected segments of Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.
According to him, inclusive participation remains essential because policy decisions taken without broad consultation often fail to address operational realities and long-term implementation challenges effectively.
“It should not be a situation where a few people sit somewhere and make decisions in isolation. Inclusive participation is very important,” he said.
Speaking from a legal perspective, Paul Usoro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria at Paul Usoro and Co, said the legal framework governing telecommunications must always align with broader policy objectives and industry realities.
Usoro noted that the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 later shaped the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, demonstrating how legislation must follow clearly defined national policy directions.
According to him, one of the strongest aspects of the 2000 policy was its support for regulatory authority and institutional independence within the telecommunications industry.
“The NCC shall make its decisions regarding licensing, tariff regulation, interconnection, disputes, and matters directly affecting licensed operators,” he quoted from the policy document.
Usoro said Nigeria must now rethink whether future reforms should focus narrowly on telecommunications or embrace a broader communications and digital economy policy framework.
He explained that emerging realities including over-the-top platforms, artificial intelligence, digital services, and evolving communications technologies had significantly changed the structure of the telecommunications ecosystem globally.
Usoro also credited competent leadership at the NCC for helping to drive the success of Nigeria’s telecommunications liberalisation process and broader digital transformation journey over the years. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)