Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, has refuted claims that telecommunication operators were instructed to disrupt network services during the recent protests.
On Thursday, Nigerians reported poor internet connectivity across all service providers, leading to suspicions that the federal government was attempting to stifle the protests.
However, Tijani firmly denied any government involvement in these network disruptions.
“There’s no instruction to tamper with the network, absolutely no instruction from my office,” Tijani stated. He suggested that the high volume of online activity, as many people were not at work, could be contributing to the network issues. “When you have a significant number of people not at work, they are online, leading to extremely high traffic. I’m not saying that’s the cause,” he added.
The minister emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring responsiveness from service providers and promoting investments in the necessary infrastructure to provide quality service. He highlighted a significant gap in Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure, noting that the country needs 125,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable but has only invested in 85,000 kilometers so far.
“We need 125,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable. We’ve only invested 85,000 kilometers. This is a project that this government is prioritizing. The Federal Executive Council has already approved this. Unfortunately, it won’t be completed in six months,” Tijani explained, indicating ongoing efforts to improve telecommunications and connectivity services in Nigeria.
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