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…set date for March 20 as deadline for submission

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on interested industry stakeholders to make written submissions to the Commission on the ongoing review of the National Telecommunications Policy (NTP) 2000, whose consultation paper has been published on the Commission’s website.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha
Head, Public Affairs.

The Commission in the statement said it has set Friday, March 20, 2026, as the deadline for all submissions from stakeholders to be addressed to the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Commission or sent to the dedicated email: stakeholders@ncc.gov.ng.

The consultation process, which is in exercise of the Commission’s functions under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 and upon the activation of the provisions of Section 24 (1) of the Act on conducting consultative processes for the review of policies, is the first step in the public consultation process to guide the review of the subsisting NTP 2000.

The review of the NTP follows the inauguration of a Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) and a Ministerial Technical Committee (MTC) by the Hon. Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, to commence the process of reviewing the NTP 2000.
Section 24 (1) of the NCA, 2003 states that “Prior to the formulation or review of the general policy for the Nigerian communications sector, the Minister shall cause the Commission on his behalf to first carry out a public consultative process on the proposed policy formulation or modification.

The policy review will also align with the Hon. Minister’s Strategic Blueprint- Accelerating Our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency, which states that the Ministry will drive the review of the Telecoms Policy to account for core issues such as spectrum management, universal access, broadband penetration, net neutrality and quality of service (QoS).

Hence, the consultation process and its outcome will support the work of the MSC and the Implementation Committee (IC) in coming up with a reviewed policy that will meet the current challenges of the communications sector and keep up with the rapid and dynamic changes since the current NTP was issued 25 years ago.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said in the published consultation paper, that the process will lead to the development of the first draft of the NTP 2026 to replace the existing NTP 2000, following 25 years of implementation.

The draft will also undergo further consultations to enable stakeholders to make more input before a final draft is subjected to the statutory policy approval and validation processes.

“The NTP 2000 has been instrumental to advancing Nigeria’s telecom sector from where it was 25 years ago – from a mere 500,000 lines to almost 180 million active mobile connections as of December 2026. One of the gaps that the revised policy seeks to address is the increased demand for data services and its externalities.

“This is a first step in the consultation process and there will be other layers of engagements, to ensure that the final draft accommodates varied expertise, feedback and inputs from a cross section of stakeholders,” Maida said.

He implored stakeholders to take the opportunity to participate in developing the policy that will take the communications sector to the next level after the immeasurable successes attained since 2000.

The NTP 2000 marked a major progression from older policies, aiming for liberalisation, modernisation, and competition under then nascent democratic government. NTP replaced the 1998 Policy and successfully paved the way for the growth of mobile telephony and the eventual NCA 2003 by focusing on market deregulation and stakeholder consultation.

In the ongoing review, there are 15 key policy proposals, which form the baseline for the review and potential changes to the existing NTP and provide both the context and policy purpose for necessary changes. The policy proposal caters to regulation of the industry, its sustainability, emerging technologies, national security, among others.

According to the EVC, the expected feedback will guide the review and amendment of the NTP in line with the expectations of the NCA, 2003. “The consultation process is open to licensees in the Nigerian communications sector, consumers, agencies of government, international agencies/partners/entities, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), individuals and other interested stakeholders,” he said.