Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, announced that the Federal Government will begin its 90,000km fibre rollout in October under Project BRIDGE, a major infrastructure programme aimed at expanding broadband access across the country.

The announcement gives a firmer timeline to a project that has been under development for several years and is expected to reshape Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.

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Speaking at the National Innovation Hub Standards Framework Workshop in Abuja, Tijani said funding had been secured for the nationwide deployment.

“President Bola Tinubu approved that we must deepen connectivity and we’re investing in 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network,” Tijani said.

He added that the scale of the project would make Nigeria’s network one of the longest fibre-optic systems in Africa.

“By the time we are done, it’s going to be either the third or second longest fibre optic network on the African continent,” he said.

Project BRIDGE, meaning Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth, is designed to deploy at least 90,000km of open-access fibre infrastructure across Nigeria through a public-private partnership.

The Federal Government has said the network will cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with the broader objective of connecting more than 770 local government areas.

The project is expected to substantially expand Nigeria’s existing fibre backbone. Government documents put the existing national network at roughly 30,000km, while the planned deployment is intended to bring the total towards about 120,000km.

The financial backing has also gathered significant international support.

The World Bank has committed $500m, while the African Development Bank approved a further $200m in April 2026.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has committed up to $100m, while the European Union is providing a €22m grant linked to the project.

The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy estimates the wider project at about $2bn and expects private-sector investors to provide a substantial share of the remaining financing.

The government’s participation is structured through a special purpose vehicle in which public ownership is capped between 25 and 49 per cent.

The significance of the 90,000km fibre rollout extends beyond faster internet connections.

The government says the infrastructure is intended to reach communities, schools, healthcare facilities, agricultural areas and commercial centres that remain poorly served by broadband.

Tijani said the fibre investment formed part of a broader three-layer digital strategy covering physical infrastructure, digital platforms and the innovators and businesses that build services on top of them.

The minister also disclosed plans to deploy nearly 3,700 telecommunications towers in communities without adequate network coverage.

More than 20 million Nigerians, according to Tijani, currently live in communities without access to telecommunications services.

The government is also looking beyond terrestrial infrastructure, with plans to renew Nigeria’s communications satellite to improve connectivity in areas where conventional towers and fibre networks are difficult to deploy.

The latest announcement follows earlier preparations for Project BRIDGE.

In April 2026, the ministry invited private-sector investors to participate in the special purpose vehicle that will oversee the project, describing the initiative as a foundation for wider digital transformation and economic growth.

The African Development Bank has similarly described the programme as an effort to extend Nigeria’s fibre backbone while supporting digital skills, employment and economic activity. Its financing is part of an $800m sovereign financing package alongside the World Bank and EBRD, with additional private capital expected.

At the Abuja workshop, Tijani connected the infrastructure drive to President Bola Tinubu’s ambition of building a $1tn Nigerian economy, arguing that sustained economic expansion would require industries beyond oil and gas.

“If we can create more companies like Andela, like Paystack, like Flutterwave, the future of Nigeria is, of course, extremely bright,” he said.

The timing is significant for millions of Nigerians whose work, education, healthcare and businesses increasingly depend on reliable internet access.

If implementation proceeds as announced, October will mark a critical transition from planning and financing to physical deployment of one of Nigeria’s most ambitious digital infrastructure projects.

The success of the programme, however, will depend not only on the scale of the fibre laid but also on effective implementation, private-sector participation, affordability and the ability to extend the benefits beyond Nigeria’s major urban centres.

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For the government, the ambition is clear: build the digital backbone capable of turning connectivity into jobs, innovation and a more inclusive digital economy.