By Fidelia Okafor
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to safeguarding the nation’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), describing it as central to Nigeria’s quest for a $1 trillion economy.
Speaking at the 2025 Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP) Conference in Lagos, themed “Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) and Building Industry Resilience,” Maida said Nigeria’s digital infrastructure is the invisible backbone driving every sector of the economy from banking and trade to education and national security.
“When we talk about a $1 trillion economy, we often mention oil, agriculture, or manufacturing. But the real backbone of all these sectors today is our digital infrastructure,” he said.
According to Maida, telecommunications currently contributes over 15 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, underscoring its pivotal role in national development. However, he warned that the sector remains under threat, revealing that more than 26,000 incidents of fibre cuts, vandalism, and theft were recorded across telecom operators between January and August 2025.
He noted that such attacks, coupled with cyber intrusions and ransomware threats, pose a serious risk to the economy and must be confronted decisively.
Dr. Maida in his paper presentation outlined a five-pronged strategy through his representative Babatunde Apeji that the NCC has adopted to protect CNII: regulation and enforcement, public awareness, collaboration with security and government agencies, stakeholder mediation, and when necessary deployment of security forces to deter vandalism and sabotage.
He disclosed that telecom infrastructure has been formally designated as a national security asset under President Bola Tinubu’s directive and the provisions of the Cybersecurity Act.
Beyond protection, Maida said the Commission is shifting its focus to resilience ensuring that telecom networks can withstand and recover swiftly from disruptions. This includes implementing disaster recovery guidelines, establishing a Sectoral Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and developing a comprehensive Cybersecurity Framework for the telecom industry.
Dr. Maida emphasized that resilience cannot be achieved in isolation, hence the NCC is collaborating with key institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to secure mobile banking systems, and with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and power distribution companies to stabilize electricity supply to telecom sites.
Dr. Maida added that state governments and local communities are being engaged to protect fibre routes and telecom towers under the CNII Presidential Order. He therefore called on FiBOP to join the NCC in creating more awareness on Nigeria’s quest for a $1 trillion economy.
