President Bola Tinubu is betting on a massive expansion of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and the creation of one million export-linked jobs to strengthen his administration’s economic growth credentials and win support from the technology sector ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The commitments, contained in the All Progressives Congress (APC) 109-page 2027–2031 re-election manifesto unveiled in Abuja, include extending Nigeria’s fibre-optic backbone from 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 kilometres through Project BRIDGE, financing digital services exports and expanding access to capital for young technology entrepreneurs.
The manifesto, titled ‘Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0’ and themed ‘Translating Reforms into Shared Prosperity’, represents an attempt to move the administration’s digital economy ambitions beyond connectivity targets towards employment generation, technology exports and broader private-sector participation.
For an industry struggling with expensive broadband, unreliable electricity, limited venture funding and regulatory uncertainty, the proposals address several longstanding constraints. However, their economic value will depend on whether the government can translate the commitments into commercially useful infrastructure, predictable financing and a more supportive operating environment.
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Under the plan, the administration intends to create one million export-linked jobs for young Nigerians by 2030 through talent development and digital services exports. It also plans to more than double non-oil export earnings, with bespoke export credit, factoring facilities and working capital for business-to-business outsourcing companies and software-as-a-service (SaaS) operators.
The proposal is significant because it recognises that Nigeria’s technology industry can generate foreign exchange through services, not just physical products.
Software development, financial technology, business-process outsourcing, cybersecurity, cloud engineering and other digital services offer opportunities for Nigerian companies to earn revenue from international markets without the logistics and transportation costs associated with conventional exports.
However, converting this opportunity into one million jobs will require more than training programmes. Nigerian technology companies must be able to access international payment channels, obtain affordable financing, compete on service quality and retain skilled workers in a market where foreign employers can offer more attractive compensation.
The manifesto’s emphasis on export financing could therefore address a major gap in the country’s digital economy, particularly for smaller technology companies that have international clients but lack sufficient working capital to execute large contracts.
Fibre expansion becomes central to digital economy strategy
At the centre of Tinubu’s digital infrastructure commitments is Project BRIDGE, a proposed 90,000-kilometre open-access fibre-optic network designed to expand the national backbone from approximately 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 kilometres.
The project is expected to improve broadband availability across the country, connecting underserved communities, businesses, public institutions and industrial locations to higher-capacity digital infrastructure.
For telecommunications operators, internet service providers, data centre companies and technology startups, the availability of extensive fibre infrastructure could reduce the cost and difficulty of extending services beyond major commercial centres.
It could also improve the economics of cloud computing, artificial intelligence deployment, digital payments and other bandwidth-intensive services that require reliable, high-capacity connectivity.
Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions increasingly depend on such infrastructure. As businesses adopt cloud platforms and artificial intelligence tools, the ability to move large volumes of data reliably and affordably will become an important determinant of productivity and competitiveness.
However, the proposed expansion faces significant execution challenges, particularly the cost of deploying fibre across states with different regulatory requirements.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), identified high and inconsistent right-of-way charges, multiple taxation, fibre vandalism and unreliable electricity as major barriers to network expansion and improved quality of service.
Adebayo has called for right-of-way charges to be eliminated or made free nationwide, arguing that in some states the fees account for 50 percent to 60 percent of the cost of deploying a kilometre of fibre. Such expenses, he has warned, make infrastructure expansion into lower-revenue communities commercially unattractive.
He has also advocated stronger legislation recognising telecommunications facilities as critical national infrastructure, alongside tougher consequences for fibre vandalism and the theft of equipment, including batteries and generators.
His position highlights a major implementation risk for Project BRIDGE: federal investment in fibre infrastructure may not deliver the intended economic benefits if state-level charges, regulatory inconsistencies and infrastructure destruction continue to increase deployment costs.
“Better service requires investment, and investment requires an enabling environment,” Adebayo stated, arguing that sanctions alone cannot build fibre networks or keep telecommunications sites powered.
The project will therefore require more than funding for cable installation. Cooperation with state governments, harmonised right-of-way policies, infrastructure protection and commercially viable wholesale access arrangements will determine whether the expanded network translates into cheaper connectivity.
Equally important is the open-access model. Its success will depend on transparent wholesale pricing and non-discriminatory access for telecommunications operators and internet service providers. Without these safeguards, expanding the physical network may not translate into lower broadband prices for consumers and businesses.
Poor service and consumer costs remain concerns
While operators are concerned about the cost of deploying infrastructure, consumers are demanding that network expansion translate into better service.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), has urged operators to accelerate the deployment of additional radio equipment and network capacity to match rising data demand.
He warned that persistent poor quality of service could push subscribers towards seeking legal redress, while advocating stronger consumer protection measures that ensure customers receive compensation when telecommunications services fail.
“Fines should follow the victim, not just the treasury,” Ogunbanjo has argued, maintaining that regulatory penalties should benefit subscribers who suffer dropped calls, disrupted connectivity and lost data rather than simply increase government revenue.
He welcomed government moves to designate telecommunications infrastructure as critical national information infrastructure, describing stronger protection of network assets as long overdue.
His position introduces another test for the administration’s digital infrastructure agenda: expanding fibre capacity must be accompanied by measurable improvements in network performance and accountability to subscribers.
For Nigeria’s technology businesses, poor connectivity is not merely a consumer inconvenience. It can disrupt financial transactions, cloud-based operations, remote work, customer support and international service delivery, ultimately increasing operating costs and undermining competitiveness.
Digital inclusion will determine who benefits
Beyond operators and subscribers, consumer advocacy groups have warned that expanding digital infrastructure will not automatically translate into economic inclusion.
The Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF), through its executive director, Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, emphasised the need for affordable and reliable connectivity alongside complementary digital-skills programmes.
Ndukwe-Okafor highlighted the importance of ensuring that women, girls and underserved communities are not excluded from the economic opportunities created by expanding broadband access.
CADEF’s work around digital literacy, financial inclusion and distributed energy solutions reinforces the need to connect backbone infrastructure with last-mile access, affordable devices and reliable electricity.
This distinction is important for Tinubu’s one-million-job ambition. Building a national fibre network may improve the availability of broadband, but Nigerians without affordable devices, digital skills or reliable electricity may remain unable to participate in the digital services economy.
The government will therefore need to ensure that its Digital Literacy for All programme, which it plans to expand from 748,988 trainees towards 30 million Nigerians, is connected to actual employment opportunities and industry requirements.
Without that connection, digital training risks producing certificates without creating a sufficiently skilled workforce for international technology markets.
Youth financing and startup capital
Beyond infrastructure, the APC manifesto promises to expand financing opportunities for young entrepreneurs through the proposed Youth Bank Law, NEXTGEN Bank lending, YouthCred’s partner-bank network and the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund.
It also commits to scaling the Student Venture Capital Grant, Diaspora BRIDGE and the Bank of Industry-National Youth Service Corps entrepreneurship programme.
The administration said the BOI-NYSC programme had funded 860 corps members with grants ranging from N100,000 to N2 million.
These initiatives seek to address one of the most persistent constraints facing Nigerian startups: access to capital.
Traditional lenders frequently require collateral and established cash flows, conditions that exclude many early-stage technology companies whose principal assets are software, intellectual property, talent and future revenue potential.
The proposed Youth Bank framework could widen access to capital, particularly for founders outside Lagos and other established technology hubs.
However, the structure of the lending programme will determine whether it produces sustainable businesses or becomes another government-backed credit intervention with limited long-term impact.
Technology startups often require patient capital, equity financing and venture debt rather than conventional short-term loans. Government-backed financing will therefore need clear eligibility criteria, independent credit assessments, transparent disbursement procedures and private-sector participation to minimise political interference and poor lending decisions.
Without these safeguards, the programme risks directing resources towards applicants with stronger political or administrative connections rather than businesses with scalable products and viable commercial models.
Digital government and literacy targets
The manifesto also places digital public infrastructure at the centre of its governance agenda.
It commits to transitioning federal ministries, departments and agencies to end-to-end digital workflows, integrating government databases into a foundational biometric identity system and digitising all court processes nationwide by 2029.
The administration says 11 of 20 government databases have already been integrated, while 44 of 50 federal MDAs have been linked to the relevant digital infrastructure.
It also plans to establish a Digital MSME Academy to improve the capacity of small businesses to adopt digital tools.
These commitments could create new opportunities for local technology providers, particularly companies developing identity verification, cybersecurity, enterprise software, cloud infrastructure and digital payment solutions.
A more integrated government technology infrastructure could also reduce administrative costs, improve access to public services and create a larger market for indigenous technology companies.
Nevertheless, integrating government databases raises questions about data protection, cybersecurity, interoperability and institutional accountability. Expanding the volume of personal information held across government systems without corresponding security and governance standards could increase exposure to data breaches and misuse.
The success of the digital government agenda will therefore depend not only on the number of databases connected but also on how securely information is managed and how effectively citizens and businesses can use the resulting services.
Power costs remain a major threat
Despite the breadth of the technology commitments, the manifesto’s infrastructure ambitions face a fundamental contradiction: digital connectivity cannot compensate for inadequate electricity supply.
The administration promises to increase available grid electricity generation towards 10,000 megawatts and install seven million additional electricity meters. It also plans to establish flagship industrial hubs across the six geopolitical zones.
However, data centres, telecommunications infrastructure and technology businesses require consistent electricity to operate competitively. Until power supply improves, many operators will continue spending heavily on diesel, gas and alternative energy systems.
For data centre investors, the cost and reliability of electricity are particularly important because facilities must operate continuously to support cloud computing, financial transactions and enterprise applications.
This means the success of Project BRIDGE and the digital export target will depend partly on whether the government can deliver its wider electricity commitments.
There is also the question of taxation and regulatory predictability. Although the administration has highlighted tax reforms as a source of relief for qualifying small businesses, technology companies continue to face compliance obligations across multiple levels of government.
Reducing the cost of doing business will require more than statutory tax adjustments. It will also require harmonised collection systems, reduced overlapping levies and consistent regulatory enforcement.
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A political test for Nigeria’s technology sector
The APC’s technology commitments form part of four broader pillars in its 2027–2031 manifesto, which also cover national security, living standards, infrastructure and governance.
The document presents the administration’s argument that the difficult economic reforms introduced since May 2023 are beginning to produce results and that a second term would allow the government to convert those reforms into wider prosperity.
At the manifesto unveiling, government officials acknowledged that the removal of petrol subsidies and foreign exchange reforms had placed significant pressure on households, while arguing that the economy was beginning to stabilise.
The government cited foreign reserves of $55.3 billion in September 2026, inflation of 14.63 percent, second-quarter GDP growth of 4.43 percent and higher Federation Account allocations as evidence of improving macroeconomic conditions.
For technology businesses, however, macroeconomic improvements will need to translate into lower operating costs, improved access to foreign exchange, cheaper connectivity and more predictable investment conditions.
The APC’s technology promises will also face scrutiny from opposition parties as the 2027 election approaches. Their ability to offer credible alternatives on broadband infrastructure, digital exports, startup financing and technology regulation could become an important part of the election debate.
Ultimately, Tinubu’s proposed 90,000-kilometre fibre expansion and one million digital export jobs represent an ambitious attempt to make the technology sector a more visible component of Nigeria’s economic transformation.
But the industry will be judging the administration less by the number of kilometres promised or the scale of proposed financing than by the cost of accessing broadband, the availability of reliable electricity, the amount of capital reaching genuine technology businesses and the number of Nigerians securing sustainable digital jobs.
For a sector that has repeatedly seen ambitious government programmes struggle with implementation, the administration’s biggest challenge may not be convincing technology stakeholders that digital infrastructure matters, but demonstrating that its promises can be delivered within the proposed timeline.
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Royal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria’s technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.
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