The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to driving 5G expansion and boosting revenue generation in the telecom sector.
According to the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Dr Aminu Maida, while the two largest telecom operators have already acquired the 5G spectrum but are yet to fully utilise it, a third operator prioritised expanding its 4G network. Despite this, the NCC remains confident in future spectrum sales, emphasising that the ongoing development of Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure will enhance digital connectivity and economic growth.
He was speaking during the budget defence exercise before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Telecommunications, in Abuja.
He acknowledged that despite efforts to auction the 5G spectrum, it remained unsold. However, he emphasised the NCC’s strong financial performance in 2024, reporting a total revenue of N195.8 billion, with N111 billion remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). The Commission remains optimistic about future 5G spectrum sales and continued industry growth.
According to him, N137.6 billion was earned from annual operating fees, while N26.4 billion was earned from Spectrum fees, among other revenue sources.
Maida however informed the Committee that, the Commission had targeted to earn N292.3 billion in the fiscal year but missed the target largely due to its inability to auction one slot of the 5G Spectrum.
He said, “That is also what impacted the transfer to the Federal Government because a great proportion of spectrum fees is really limited to the CRF.
“But if you recall in the 2024 budget, we also made an assumption that we were going to get 12.5% cost of collections from the federal government. Unfortunately, that was not approved. So in reality, the operating income, I think was around the 20-35% mark when you used to operate last year. So hence that’s why this year we had to revise and be more realistic,” he added.
The NCC’s Director of Financial Services, Mr Yakubu Gontor, said that the Commission was not able to auction the 5G Spectrum primarily due to market conditions.
“Two large operators already have 5G spectrum and they are underutilising it. Now the third largest operator who we were banking on to purchase this spectrum unfortunately indicated to us that perhaps this is not the right time to do it and they made it clear that their strategy was to expand their fortune.
“So we were operating on very fine margins. We had one slot to sell and there was only one potential buyer. Because as you know 9 Mobile is currently going through a restructuring of its fortunes,“ he explained.
Mr. Gontor, further revealed that, despite the 50% telecom tariff hike, the NCC may not generate more revenues from spectrum sales this year.
The Director of Finance noted, “We have also made it clear to them (telcos) that the priority is to improve service this year. Now, spectrum is one of the resources required, but unfortunately, when you look at the priority of where they get to make investments, it’s not a spectrum,”
He, however, pointed out that, with the introduction of new technologies, including 6G, the federal government could generate a record of over $1 billion in revenue.
“When it comes to spectrum sales, it is a 10-year cycle for two reasons. Number one, the lease, just like when you lease a piece of land, you will be celebrating when they pay you a 10-year lease. But for the next nine years, it is that money from the 10 years that you will be relying on,“ he said.
On the 2025 budget, he said the NCC projected a total revenue of N272.433 billion.
“The major component of that revenue is an operating levy of N205.7 billion and spectrum fees of N49.784 billion and then other income. And our total recurrent expenditure projection is N95.668 billion naira and our total projected capital expenditure is N10.735 billion. While for special projects we have N30.13 billion projection.
“Total expenditure both recurrent, capital and special is projected at 136.534 billion. We project to remit to the CRF 120.836 billion while we project to remit to the Universal in 2025. Those are the highlights of our project projections for 2025.”
Despite the revenue shortfall, the committee expressed satisfaction with the NCC’s 2024 budget performance and its proposed estimates for 2025.
The Co-Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aliyu Ikrah Bilbis, said, the submissions of the NCC will allow members of the Committee to ask questions as well as help the Commission improve its operations in 2025.
He cites data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics that showed telecommunications contribute around 16% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Senator Bilbis also stressed the need for the NCC to be fully equipped both financially and operationally to effectively carry out its regulatory functions.
He noted that the budget defence was to take a critical look at the finances of the NCC towards more efficiency.
During the session, committee members questioned the EVC and his team on measures being taken to improve telecom services in Nigeria.
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