FG Commissions First of 3,700 Rural Connectivity Towers in Abia

The Federal Government on Friday commissioned the first of 3,700 telecommunications towers planned under the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project (NUCAP), installing the initial site in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State and kicking off a nationwide rollout aimed at reaching nearly 20 million unserved Nigerians.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, performed the commissioning, saying the project would deliver 3,700 towers across the country with more sites to follow in the coming weeks and months. "Today, we are commissioning the first of these sites here in Bende. And more of it will come in so many parts of Nigeria," he said.

Connecting the last communities

NUCAP is funded through the Universal Service Provision Fund and delivered by Global Independent Connect Limited, a subsidiary of IHS Towers, with public wi-fi and smart village solutions included in the package. Seven locations across Abia, Delta, Enugu, Plateau, Katsina and Ogun states form the first phase, with Bende the first to be commissioned.

Tijani said every community in Bende would be connected before Christmas and described the towers as more than metal, calling them "a tree that bears fruit" for farmers seeking buyers, traders closing sales, students learning new skills and families seeking help. He linked the investment to President Bola Tinubu's ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, arguing that the target requires every Nigerian to have the opportunity to contribute.

A gap measured in millions

Large rural and riverine communities across Nigeria still lack reliable coverage, a gap that excludes households from mobile banking, online learning, telemedicine and emergency services. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who represents the Bende constituency, said the area and "almost 20 million people around this region" had suffered a lack of connectivity for too long, and that the tower would make clearer calls, successful banking transactions, online lessons and emergency response possible.

Kalu disclosed that 16 additional locations in the constituency had been identified for phased rollout and urged traditional rulers and community leaders to donate land free of charge for subsequent sites. He also raised a practical problem: inaccurate digital mapping, with Bende town mislabelled on GPS platforms, which affects deliveries, business visibility and emergency response.

Partners and protections

The minister commended IHS, Huawei and MTN for their roles in the project and urged communities to protect the infrastructure and report faults quickly, a reference to the vandalism and power supply challenges that have historically degraded rural base stations. Akeem Adeshina, chief commercial officer of IHS Nigeria, described the commissioning as an important milestone in expanding digital access and bringing opportunity closer to underserved communities.

What success looks like

The rollout's impact will be judged by whether towers carry live traffic: coverage maps that show signal where there was none, local businesses adopting digital payments, and enrolment in services that assume connectivity. With sites planned nationwide, the Bende launch is both a proof of concept and a race against time to keep the deployment schedule moving.