By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, has revealed that the quarterly revenues generated for the federal government from the ICT sector increased from $1.1 million to $932 million (approximately N419.4 billion) through spectrum sales and taxes.
The Minister disclosed this in a speech delivered at the third edition of Digital Nigeria Day, emphasising some of the significant milestones which the sector has achieved.
According to Mr Pantami, the ICT sector provided 3 distinctive contributions to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the last 3 years. He noted that these were 14.07 per cent in Q1 2020, 17.92 per cent in Q2 2021, and 18.44 per cent in Q2 2022.
Mr Pantami said, “ICT sector grew by 14.70 per cent in Q4 2020, making it the fastest-growing sector of the Nigerian economy in the last quarter of 2020 and the only industry to have grown by double digits. This played a critical role in allowing Nigeria to exit the recession.”
When the Minister assumed office on August 21, 2019, the official broadband penetration figures stood at 33.72 per cent, and today, it is 44.65 per cent, representing close to 13 million new broadband users.
Mr Pantami noted that there were 13,823 4G base stations and now 36,751, representing a 165.86 per cent increase. As a result, the percentage of 4G coverage across the country rose from 23 per cent to 77.52 per cent.
Furthermore, the average cost of data has crashed from $2.74 per GB (N1,200) to about $0.80 (N300), making it easier for Nigerians to connect to the Internet.
This echoed an opinion he shared recently that the growing contribution of the sector to the GDP was a result of the commitment of the current administration to the development of the digital economy.
He said that the unprecedented contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP could also be attributed to the dynamic and results-oriented leadership of the sector.
He, however, said that the GDP report had shown how critical the ICT sector was to the growth of the country’s digital economy and, by extension, the general economy.
“The diligent implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria, stakeholder engagement, and creation of an enabling environment have all played an important role in this achievement.
“The support of President Muhammadu Buhari has contributed immensely to the impressive developments in the sector.
“The unprecedented contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP can also be attributed to the dynamic and results-oriented leadership of the sector,” he said.
