Abuja slashes ICT budget 71%, telcos increase spending
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Allocation to information and communications technology (ICT) slashed 70.93 per cent in the 2023 Appropriation Bill despite the progressive contribution the sector has made to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The bill Muhammadu Buhari presented the National Assembly (NASS) on 7 October shows the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has N46.48 billion in 2023 against N159.87 billion in 2022, a 70.93 per cent drop year-on-year (YoY).
In contrast, both MTN and Airtel spent N443.30 billion on digital infrastructure in the first six months of this year to June (H1 2022).
Budget breakdown
The ministry’s budget for 2023 is broken down as follows:
- N31.23 billion – personnel cost
- N910.04 million – overheads
- 14.34 billion – capital projects
Capital projects
- N500 million – ICT park
- N105.05 million – satellite broadband and rural connectivity
- N500.40m – second satellite
- N9.9 billion – identification for development project
ICT has one of the lowest projected spending for 2023, with the Presidency, NASS, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of Interior, and others having higher allocations.
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ICT driving economic growth
The telecommunications industry, the major sector under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, contributed hugely to Nigeria’s yank off from recession in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020).
“Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC], is one of the sectors whose performance lifted the country out of recession in the fourth quarter of 2020, contributing 12.45 per cent to the country’s GDP,” the NCC said in a report, per The PUNCH.
“According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, telecommunications & information services under Information and Communication grew by 17.64 per cent in Q4 2020 from 17.36 per cent in Q3, 2020 and 10.26 per cent in Q4, 2019.”
ICT contributed 18.44 per cent to GDP in Q2 2022, driving growth in the economy.
Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Pantami credited the growth to the development of the digital economy, implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria, stakeholder engagement, and creation of an enabling environment.