Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has given Nigeria a 71% in comparative legal, regulatory, and governance frameworks towards 5G, an advanced state of readiness for digital transformation, with Germany, Finland, and Singapore leading the global chart.

According to a statement from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria received the score in a report written by the ITU and the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), which was unveiled by Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, in Abuja this week.

According to the research, Nigeria was ranked among Africa's top seven on the 5G Readiness Index, which measures the country's readiness to deploy and use mass-market 5G networks

ITU's Kagwira Nkonge delivered the report 'Collaborative Regulation: Accelerating Nigeria's Digital Transformation,' which provided a case study for collaborative regulation review in Nigeria, with the goal of improving digital governance, policymaking, and regulation in the digital economy.

The ITU analysed countries' preparation levels based on four main criteria: national collaborative governance, policy design principles, the digital development toolkit, and the digital economic policy agenda.

According to the research, Nigeria ranks 91% in regulatory capability, 82% in market rules, 81% in collaborative governance, 76% in legal instruments for ICT/telecom markets, and 69% in the National Digital Agenda Policy, among other benchmarks.

In his remarks at the event, Dr. Tijani commended the ITU, partner agencies, and consultants who worked on the report, and expressed the Federal Government's commitment "to use this report as a navigational aid towards achieving our regulatory objectives and policies outlined in order to achieve a robust digital economy."

"That is what we will continue to do as a government, ensuring that we can put ourselves in a place to have cutting-edge modern regulations in place to ensure that business is done properly in our sector and to ensure that, where possible, increase the local content of the sector as well," according to him.

Tijani stated that the NCC has adapted over the years in response to changes in its role and purpose.

“Fifteen, twenty years ago, NCC was just regulating the telecommunications sector, today, NCC regulates the foundation for which any economy would be prosperous,” the minister added.

Also speaking, Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the NCC, who hosted the presentation, acknowledged the factors that support better regulation, increased investment, and the development of new approaches for broader digital inclusion.

He stressed that collaborative regulation will help Nigeria move toward effective digital governance, evidence-based policymaking, and agile regulation in its digital economy.