Nigeria is the MTN Group’s most lucrative market in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the source of a third of the income of the entire MTN Group. In my meeting today with the members of the Board and Management of the Group, I noted this, and urged them to offer top-of-the-range and affordable service to Nigerians.
I also congratulated Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, on his appointment, and wished him all the best.
Our administration is implementing a number of policies and programmes to ensure that institutions like MTN have a conducive environment for doing business in Nigeria. Our massive jump in the Global Ease of Doing Business Ranking is proof that our efforts are yielding positive results.
Our emphasis on the development of Nigeria’s Digital Economy has also positioned the sector as a leading light in the Nigerian economy. The Information and Communications Technology sector was the fastest growing sector in both the fourth quarter of 2020 and the entire year 2020, based on the Report by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The sector’s 14.70% double digit growth rate played a principal role in supporting our country to exit the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth rate of the sector exceeded 4 times the next fastest growing sector of Q4 2020, which had a growth rate of 3.42%. This is truly commendable.
We have identified and addressed the key challenges that affected the growth of the digital economy sector. One of such challenges was the high Right of Way costs and another was the vandalisation of critical national infrastructure.
I am happy to note that the Right of Way charges have now been pegged at a maximum of N145/linear metre and I have given directives for the protection of Critical National Infrastructure and this has addressed the issue of vandalisation of such infrastructure. Service providers should always appreciate the effort of government and not undermine it.
As we seek to make broadband widely available and affordable, we urge MTN to continue to support our efforts by expanding high quality connectivity to Nigerians in unserved and underserved areas.
I also recently unveiled and launched the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector. I call on MTN and other players in the sector to support the implementation of this Policy and train and engage more Nigerians in their companies.
I look forward to more mutually beneficial partnerships between MTN and Nigeria.
Nigeria remains open for business and Investment, and we will continue to promote business-friendly policies and an enabling environment, he added.
