• Broadband penetration drops by 3.84%, as 6m Nigerians lose Internet access
• Future GDP growth, contributions look bleak
• Stakeholders foresee faster recovery
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, which has been a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has suffered a decline in growth trajectory. This is due to drop in subscriptions and other industry fundamentals in the last five months.
Findings showed that growth of the sector has been on the downward slide as over 12 million mobile subscriptions have been cut off. Access to the latest industry subscription statistics released at the weekend by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) confirmed this challenge as the country’s tele-density dropped by 6.34 per cent.
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The Federal Government has given a timeline for the completion of the Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonsoki expressway project.
The government said the reconstruction/rehabilitation of the expressway which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2018, to resolve the Apapa traffic gridlock, will be completed within 9 to 10 months.
This disclosure was made by the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, during a joint inspection with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
He assured that section one of the project would be completed within 3 weeks and thereafter opened for use.
Popoola said that the rehabilitation works, which had been divided into four sections to ease port congestion and gridlock at the Apapa axis, have section one which spans from Liverpool Round through Creek Road to Beachland near Sunrise and is about 10 km, while section two is 8.4 km and spans from Beachland to Cele Bus Stop.
Stakeholders in the telecommunication sector have commended the Anambra State government for the decision of the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano to waive the right of way charges for telecommunication companies.
The National Economic Council had last year pegged the RoW charge at N145 per linear meter, but Obiano responding to this announced a zero charge for installation of telecommunications fibres.
Stakeholders in the sector, including representatives of Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), International Internet advocacy group, Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) who attended the conference spoke in commendation of Anambra State government during a broadband stakeholders’ conference in the state.