The Nigerian government is set to establish two additional satellites to support and the Nigeria Communication Satellite system (NIGCOMSAT) and complement the existing NIGCOMSAT-2. Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communication, said the major reason for the additional communication satellites would be to reach areas that could not easily be covered by terrestrial fibre.
Minister for Communication, Dr. Adebayo Shittu, who disclosed this on Thursday at the 6th regular meeting of the National Council on Communication Technology (NCCT), in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said this is to further boost the Telecommunications industry.
According to him, the economic recovery and massive employment generation for the teeming youths could be achieved faster using ICT
Speaking on this year’s theme: “Leveraging ICT as a vehicle for economic recovery and growth,” the Minister revealed that the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased from $32 billion in 2015 to $40 billion in 2018.
Shittu said there was a positive increase in the number of active telecommunication subscribers, to 162.05 million in September from 148.70 million in August 2015 (+7%). Shittu revealed that the country’s Foreign Direct Investment in telecommunication increased to USD 40 billion in 2018 from USD 32 billion in 2015.
The minister said that the percentage of internet penetration reached a milestone of 48.44 per cent, making Nigeria second only to South Africa in the whole of Africa. He reiterated the Government’s resolve to use ICT as a way of economic diversification which would help in the nation’s economic recovery and massive employment generation for the teeming youths.
