Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has said that communication operators were committed to spend at least $6 billion on infrastructure as from this year.

    She also stated that significantly more based stations needed to be deployed across the country to meet national target of a five old increase in broadband penetration by 2018.

    The minister spoke yesterday in  Abuja during her mid-term review presentation, made at the ministerial platform organised by the Minister of Information.

    According to her, a $3 billion syndicated loan facility would be extended to major operators in the market which, she said, was the biggest financial deal in Sub-Saharan African communication sector.

    Earlier, before the mid-term review, the minster had declared open a forum on ‘Nigeria Internet Governance’, with the theme: ‘Internet Governance for Empowerment: National Integration Security’, through multi-stake holders engagement, where she stated that robust socio-economic environments thrive on effective and efficient communications infrastructure and services.

    “This is why we shall not relent in exploring modern and innovative ways to achieve regulatory solutions that promote information rich environment,” she said.

    The minister explained that as a responsive and innovative telecommunications regulator the organisations are guided by the principles of fairness, firmness and transparency in the promotion of access to information by all.

    But in her presentation at the mid-term review, Mrs. Johnson lamented that investment in the sector was hampered by increasing incidences and values of taxes and levies requested by states.

    This, she said, results to delays in obtaining approval to build base stations.