The Federal Government plans to deploy 3,700 telecommunications towers to connect nearly 20 million Nigerians without network access, beginning with a site in Abia State.
The federal government says it will deploy 3,700 telecommunications towers to connect nearly 20 million Nigerians who have no network access.
Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, announced the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project (NUCAP) on Friday while commissioning its first site in Amaeke, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State. The tower stands along the Umuahia-Ohafia Road.
Tijani said on X that the project would extend connectivity to communities that have remained without network coverage, with more site launches planned in the coming days, weeks and months.
“Imagine Going a Whole Day Without a Phone Signal”
The minister said the aim is to let people in underserved communities reach opportunities that depend on reliable telecommunications.
“Imagine going a whole day without a phone signal. You cannot call your family, you can’t receive a payment, and if someone needs urgent help, you cannot make that call,” Tijani said.
He said the lack of connectivity hurts people whose livelihoods depend on reaching buyers, receiving payments and accessing essential services.
“Think about a farmer who needs to find a buyer, that trader waiting for payment, the mother trying to reach a health worker,” he said.
According to Tijani, the Amaeke site marks the start of a wider rollout meant to bring more communities within coverage. Speaking at the commissioning, he said, “Through NUCAP, we are delivering 3,700 telecommunications towers across Nigeria. Today, we are commissioning the first of these sites here.”
Tied to the $1 Trillion Economy Goal
The minister said the project aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by giving Nigerians the chance to take part in economic growth.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambition for a $1 trillion economy requires every Nigerian to have the opportunity to contribute and share in its prosperity. That is why this investment matters,” Tijani said.
He said the initiative is part of the government’s effort to expand digital inclusion so that where people live does not stop them from accessing economic and social opportunities.
Bende and What Comes Next
Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who represents Bende, thanked the president and the ministry for choosing his constituency for the first commissioning. He said 16 more locations in Bende Federal Constituency still need coverage, and asked traditional rulers and town union leaders to protect the tower as a national asset. One report quoted Tijani as saying that every community in Bende would be connected before Christmas.
The minister said communities without network coverage that are not in the deployment plan can report their locations to the ministry for consideration.
Questions on Timelines and “First Site”
Reports differ on some details. The programme’s name appears in coverage as the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project, the National Universal Communications Access Programme, and, in an earlier BusinessDay report, the National Unconnected Communities Access Programme.
That earlier report, from about a month ago, quoted Tijani as saying the first tower had been deployed at Kura village near Abuja, and that the government targeted at least 200 towers by December, though it did not say whether the Kura tower was part of the 3,700. Friday’s coverage describes the Bende tower as the first site commissioned under NUCAP. The ministry has not published a full rollout schedule, funding breakdown or state-by-state list in the reports reviewed.
The tower project is separate from the government’s planned 90,000-kilometre national fibre-optic network and a planned satellite, which the minister has said would cover places that towers and fibre cannot reach.
