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Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has disclosed that the federal government will, in a matter of weeks, roll out a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network nationwide.

He described it as one of the country’s most ambitious digital infrastructure projects targeted at transforming broadband connectivity across the country.

Tijani, who spoke with newsmen yesterday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on the progress of three flagship digital projects being implemented by his ministry, said government had completed the resource mobilisation and contractual processes required for the fibre project and was ready to begin deployment across the country.

He said: “We’re now at the point where, in a few weeks’ time, we should start to lay those fibre, so people will start seeing us around the country deploying the fibre. This is going to transform Nigeria for good.”

According to him, the project would extend fibre optic infrastructure to every state, geopolitical zone, local government area and ward, significantly improving the quality and reach of internet connectivity.

“This is a project where every state, every geopolitical zone, every local government and every ward in this country will be covered with fibre optic cables, which will transform the quality of connectivity,” he added.

Tijani also appreciated Tinubu for policy reforms that have strengthened the communications sector, including the designation of digital infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure, tariff adjustments and tax harmonisation.

“I think our sector has been extremely fortunate. With Mr. President, as you can imagine, he’s given us quite a number of things that the sector has been demanding for a long time. Whether it’s the critical national infrastructure designation for all digital infrastructure, or the slight adjustment in tariff, which you’ve seen, the tax harmonisation, which the sector has been asking for.

“I think it’s probably the sector that is most appreciative of this government because when we came in, the sector was contributing between 16 to 18 per cent to our GDP, but today that sector is tracking close to 21 per cent, so it’s a significant growth”, he said.

On rural connectivity, the minister stressed that the government would begin deploying about 3,700 telecommunications towers from October to provide network coverage for more than 20 million Nigerians currently living in communities without access to telecommunications services.

He stressed: “Mr. President also sanctioned that project. Today we’re in a place where, before the end of the year, we’ll also start to deploy close to 3,700 towers. It’s taken a lot of time putting this project together, raising the capital for it, but we are at a point where we should now start deploying around October.”

Tijani also stated that Nigeria would launch an alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, placing the country among a small number of nations using the advanced addressing technology.

“Nigeria will be amongst maybe 10 or 15 countries in the world with an alphanumeric postcode. It’s the latest design in the postcode system where we can now identify every property in this country. We’re hoping to launch that one on the 1st of October”, he said.

The system, the minister said, will assign a unique address to every building, making deliveries faster, boosting e-commerce, strengthening security and improving public service delivery.

“Inability to locate places comes at a cost. You can start to imagine what this will do to e-commerce. This would transform e-commerce completely because it means that things can now be delivered in record time”, Tijani said.

According to him, integrating the postcode system with existing government identity databases would enhance security and improve the efficiency of government services.

“Our alphanumeric postcode is unique because it allows us to have unique addresses for every property. In a lot of countries, like the UK, postcodes are not unique to one building; they’re typically for a cluster of buildings. But what we have here is one where you can identify every building. That will change the game significantly for Nigeria in terms of the delivery of public services,” he added.

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The National Economic Council on Monday approved the refinancing of the $3.3bn Project Gazelle Pre-Export Finance Facility through a new $4.5bn facility named Project Gazelle 2.

The approval came at the 159th meeting of NEC, held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, following a presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Taiwo Oyedele, on the significance of the refinancing arrangement.

The approval allows the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to refinance the outstanding balance of approximately $1.5bn under the original 2023 facility while unlocking an additional $3bn in liquidity to strengthen Nigeria’s external reserves and support ongoing fiscal and infrastructure priorities.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications in the Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed details of the approval in a statement he signed Monday titled ‘NEC Approves Refinancing of $3.3bn Project Gazelle to Optimise Cost, Unlock Additional Liquidity.’

According to Nkwocha, Council observed the significance of unlocking additional liquidity for the federation and pledged its support for the actualisation of the initiative.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Oyedele explained that the new arrangement had been structured on considerably more favourable terms than the original facility, including a substantial reduction in the volume of crude oil pledged to secure the loan.

He explained, “The refinancing has been structured on more favourable terms than the original facility, including a reduction in the volume of pledged crude oil from 90,000 barrels of oil per day to approximately 78,750 barrels of oil per day, a 12.5 per cent reduction.”

Oyedele said the reduction in pledged volume translated directly into more crude available for the federation to sell and retain revenue from outside the terms of the facility.

“Under the new arrangement, an additional 11,250 barrels of oil per day for the federation will be released, while there will be a reduction in the pledged crude volumes by NNPC Limited,” he said.

The Minister described the refinancing as a dual achievement, improved liquidity access on better terms while simultaneously strengthening the country’s overall financing structure.

He stated, “While accessing additional liquidity on improved terms, the arrangement is freeing up resources for strategic national priorities while strengthening the country’s financing structures.”

In his opening remarks to Council, Vice President Shettima called for the design of a responsive, scalable and data-driven social protection policy to confront multidimensional poverty in Nigeria, framing the challenge in vivid and deeply human terms.

He argued, “Government policies are often heard before they are seen they speak through the price of food, the condition of hospitals, the records in schools, the strain on families, the confidence of those who invest their labour in the nation’s future, and, very importantly, the ambitions of state governments.”

The VP urged Council members to ensure that every decision reached at NEC left ordinary Nigerians with confidence that their government was attentive and responsive to their daily struggles.

“Every decision we make must assure the citizens that their government is paying attention to the pulse of the nation and is resolved to respond with competence, compassion and purpose,” he said.

Project Gazelle was originally structured in 2023 as a pre-export finance facility secured against future crude oil sales, designed to provide Nigeria with dollar liquidity to defend the naira and support foreign exchange market stability amid the sharp currency volatility that followed the administration’s unification of exchange rate windows.

The refinancing under Project Gazelle 2 extends and restructures that facility on improved terms, reflecting both the larger size of the new facility and NNPC Limited’s improved negotiating position following three years of oil sector reforms aimed at attracting fresh investment from international oil companies and boosting domestic production capacity.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that the next stage of fintech development in Nigeria must focus on five important outcomes to achieve sustainable growth of the initiative.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, said in a goodwill message at the 3rd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2026 in Lagos that Nigeria’s fintech development must deliver digital financial services that are reliable, secure, fair and accessible.

Cardoso, who was represented by Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, Director, Payments System Supervision, added that Nigerians should be able to transact with confidence, including during periods of high demand.

He said, “Charges should be clear, complaints resolved promptly and failed transactions addressed without unnecessary hardship to customers, Cybersecurity and fraud prevention must remain a shared responsibility, institutions must continually invest in secure technology, effective controls and practical customer education.”

Mr. Babatunde Ajiboye, Assistant Director at CBN, who stood in for Yusuf, said another major strategy is to ensure that “competition must also remain open and fair, with qualified participants having equal access to essential payment infrastructure.”

The apex bank said it cannot achieve these strategies alone, saying that banks, fintech companies, mobile money operators, switches, processors, telecom companies, consumer groups and government institutions all have important roles to play to realise the outcomes.

Looking ahead, the CBN said: “The future of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem is promising. Our population is young, entrepreneurial and increasingly connected. Our financial institutions have demonstrated a strong capacity for innovation.

“With appropriate regulation, responsible conduct and sustained investment, Nigeria can build a digital financial system that serves as a model for Africa and the wider world.”

The CBN governor promised that the apex bank will continue to support innovation that solves real problems, expands access and strengthens the economy.

“We will also continue to act where market conduct, concentration, weak governance or operational risks threaten customers or the stability of the system. Our message is simple: innovation welcome, fair competition is essential and public trust must remain at the centre of everything we do.”

He commended the Business Journal Media Group for organising the Roundtable and encouraged participants to engage openly and develop practical recommendations that will advance a safer, fairer and more inclusive digital financial ecosystem in Nigeria.