The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has blamed its low revenue generation and failure to meet targets in 2024 on the refusal of telecommunication companies to buy the 5G spectrum license.
Aminu Maida, the NCC chief executive officer/executive vice chairman, made this known while speaking at the 2025 budget defence before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Communication on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
Maida, alongside NCC Director of Financial Services Yakubu Gontor, highlighted that telecommunications companies purchase licenses for a ten-year period, with only the two largest operators having made the purchase so far.
None of the other operators bought the 5G spectrum license in 2024 due to poor market conditions, and the operators pursuing other expansion plans.
Gontor explained;
Even though the commission fell short of its 2024 target revenue of N292.3 billion, the NCC boss explained that N137.6 billion was generated from operating fees, while N26.4 billion came from Spectrum fees.
The commission generated N195.8 billion including income from other sources, and remitted N111 billion of the sum into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
In addition to not selling any 5G spectrum license, the commission failed to secure the 12.5% collection costs from the Federal Government, as earlier projected, LEADERSHIP reports.
NCC CEO Aminu Maida spoke on the 2025 projected revenue of N272.433 billion, explaining that a large chunk of it would come from operating levies.
According to his breakdown, operating levies will generate N205.7 billion in revenue, while Spectrum fees and other incomes will account for the rest.
Maida also gave a breakdown of the 2025 expenditure to include N30.13 billion for special projects, N95.668 billion for recurrent expenditure, and N10.735 billion for capital expenditure; bringing the total to N136.534 billion.
A recent report from TimesNow.com.ng shows that Telecommunication companies are committed to improving service delivery after the 50% tariff increase takes effect.
This is in line with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) directive that no network blackout will be tolerated in the new tariff regime.
To achieve this, NCC will ensure that TelCos that have purchased the license already use them maximally. The commission also announced that plans for 6G introduction are underway, and the commission could generate up to $1 billion when it is launched.
In related news, TimesNow.com.ng reported that Nigerian subscribers are taking the NCC to court in a desperate move to halt the implementation of the 50% tariff hike.
This comes after several attempts to renegotiate the increase, met a dead end.
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers complained that the NCC has disregarded their proposal for a 10% increase instead.
This hike, though the first in over a decade, has attracted several reactions, commendations, and criticisms.
Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
