The federal government says work on Nigeria’s 90,000km fibre optic network will begin within weeks, with 3,700 telecom towers and a new national postcode system also scheduled for rollout.
The Federal Government will begin deploying its planned 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network within the next few weeks, covering every state, geopolitical zone, local government area, and ward in the country, Communications Minister Bosun Tijani has announced.
Tijani made the disclosure on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, saying the government had concluded resource mobilisation and contractual processes for the nationwide project, clearing the way for physical deployment.
What the fibre rollout means for Nigerians
The 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network is the largest broadband infrastructure project in Nigeria’s history and will, for the first time, extend high-speed connectivity to every ward in the country, including communities that have historically been excluded from Nigeria’s digital economy due to the absence of fixed broadband infrastructure.
“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 fiber. This is going to transform Nigeria for good,” Tijani said.
He elaborated on the nationwide scope of the deployment.
“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 said.
Tijani attributed recent growth in the telecommunications sector to reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, including the designation of digital infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, telecoms tariff adjustments, and tax harmonisation.
3,700 towers from October to connect 20 million Nigerians
Beyond the fibre rollout, Tijani announced that the government plans to begin deploying approximately 3,700 telecommunications towers from October, targeting underserved communities currently without reliable mobile network access.
“Before the end of the year, we’ll also start to deploy close to 3,700 towers. It’s taken a lot putting this project together, raising the capital for it, but we are at a point where we should now start deploying around October,” he said.
The project, approved by President Tinubu, is expected to provide connectivity for more than 20 million Nigerians currently without reliable network access, a figure that underscores the scale of digital exclusion the government is seeking to address through the twin infrastructure programmes.
Nigeria to launch alphanumeric postcode system on October 1
Tijani also announced that Nigeria will launch a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, 2026, which will assign a unique address to every property in the country for the first time.
The minister said the system would improve logistics, boost e-commerce, enhance emergency response and strengthen public service delivery across all levels of government.
“It allows us to have unique addresses for every property. That will change the game significantly for Nigeria in terms of the delivery of public services,” Tijani said.
The alphanumeric postcode system addresses one of the most persistent structural gaps in Nigeria’s service delivery infrastructure, the absence of a standardised, universal address system that emergency services, logistics companies, financial institutions and government agencies can rely on to locate properties and individuals accurately across the country.
