In today’s digital age, access to the internet is no longer a luxury for Nigerian students and health workers, it is a basic requirement for learning, research, innovation and service delivery. From virtual classrooms and digital textbooks to telemedicine and data-driven healthcare, connectivity now sits at the heart of modern education and public health systems.
It is against this backdrop that the Federal Government has unveiled plans to extend broadband internet to tens of thousands of public schools and health facilities across the country, particularly in communities that remain largely cut off from reliable digital access.
According to official project documents, the initiative is expected to connect 55,675 public institutions nationwide, including 38,803 schools and 16,872 health facilities, by September 2030. If fully delivered, it would represent one of the most far-reaching public digital infrastructure interventions in Nigeria’s history.
Reliable internet access opens the door to digital libraries, online curricula, teacher training platforms, global academic collaboration and skills development tailored to a rapidly changing job market. For students in underserved areas, it could help narrow the widening digital divide that increasingly mirrors existing inequalities in income and opportunity.
The health sector stands to gain just as much as broadband connectivity enables telemedicine services, faster access to patient records, remote diagnostics and continuous training for medical personnel, tools that are especially critical in rural and hard-to-reach communities where specialists are scarce.
Beyond schools and hospitals, the government’s plan also covers thousands of public institutions. By the end of the project, the number of broadband-connected public facilities is expected to rise to over 59,000, up from fewer than 34,000 recorded in 2025. This includes local government offices, which are often the closest point of contact between citizens and the state.
At the centre of the initiative is a nationwide fibre-optic rollout, with plans to deploy about 90,000 kilometres of cable, most of it designed to withstand climate-related risks. The expansion is expected to lower wholesale broadband costs by about 20 per cent and significantly improve internet speeds, making digital services more affordable and reliable across the country.
The programme also places emphasis on human capacity, with plans to provide digital literacy training to 37,000 Nigerians, the majority of them women and to generate gender-disaggregated data that can guide future broadband policy. Project targets include high service satisfaction rates and timely resolution of user complaints once operations are fully underway.
While the scale of ambition is clear, the funding model reflects the realities of large infrastructure projects as the initiative is backed by a $500 million concessional loan from the World Bank’s International Development Association, with the bulk of the funds set aside to capitalise a new fibre infrastructure company. The company will operate as a special purpose vehicle, majority owned and managed by the private sector, while the Federal Government participates as a minority shareholder through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.
The structure is designed to crowd in private investment, potentially exceeding $1 billion over the project’s lifespan and limit direct government control, while ensuring open-access wholesale services for licensed telecommunications operators.
As of early 2026, the loan had not yet been disbursed, though preparatory work is ongoing and implementation is expected to begin in earnest this year. The World Bank has rated progress so far as satisfactory, even as it flagged political, institutional and fiduciary risks that could affect delivery.
Ultimately, the success of the initiative will be measured not by kilometres of fibre laid or funds committed, but by whether Nigerian students can learn without digital barriers and whether health workers can deliver care with modern tools at their disposal.
In a world increasingly driven by data, connectivity has become foundational infrastructure as essential as roads, power and water and Nigeria’s development trajectory will depend on how effectively it is deployed.
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