The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has disclosed that the acquisition of IHS Towers by MTN Group would be reviewed.
On Tuesday, MTN Group announced that it has reached an agreement with IHS to acquire the towerco in a deal worth $6.2 billion.
The transaction, structured as an all-cash deal, would see MTN Group take full ownership of IHS and delist the tower company, converting it into a wholly owned subsidiary.

But in a statement yesterday, Tijani noted: “Given the strategic importance of telecommunications infrastructure to national security, economic growth, financial services, innovation, and social inclusion, and to ensure strategic actions by private sector operators are in line with the market development agenda under the Renewed Hope policy directions of the President, the Ministry will undertake a thorough assessment of this development in collaboration with the relevant regulatory authorities to review its impact on the sector.
“Our objective is clear: to ensure that any market consolidation or structural changes protect consumers, safeguard investments, and preserve the long-term sustainability of the sector.
“We remain committed to maintaining a stable, transparent, and forward-looking policy environment that keeps Nigeria’s telecommunications industry on a strong and sustainable path, in alignment with our broader vision of building a robust digital economy.”

The minister said the current administration has taken deliberate steps to stabilise and strengthen the telecommunications sector as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“Through policy clarity, regulatory support, and sustained engagement with industry stakeholders, the government has prioritised long-term sustainability, investor confidence and improved sector performance,” he said.
According to him, recent financial results announced by key operators indicate a return to improved profitability, increased investment in telecoms infrastructure and operational stability across the sector. He said this progress reflected the resilience of the industry and the impact of reforms aimed at ensuring its viability and capacity to continue delivering meaningful connectivity to Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on interested industry stakeholders to make written submissions to the Commission on the ongoing review of the National Telecommunications Policy (NTP) 2000, whose consultation paper has been published on the Commission’s website.
The Commission has set Friday, March 20, 2026, as the deadline for all submissions from stakeholders to be addressed to the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Commission or sent to the dedicated email: [email protected].
The consultation process, which is in exercise of the Commission’s functions under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 and upon the activation of the provisions of Section 24 (1) of the Act on conducting consultative processes for the review of policies, is the first step in the public consultation process to guide the review of the subsisting NTP 2000.

The review of the NTP follows the inauguration of a Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) and a Ministerial Technical Committee (MTC) by Minister Tijani to commence the process of reviewing the NTP 2000.
Section 24 (1) of the NCA, 2003 states that “Prior to the formulation or review of the general policy for the Nigerian communications sector, the Minister shall cause the Commission on his behalf to first carry out a public consultative process on the proposed policy formulation or modification.”
NCC said the policy review will also align with the Minister’s Strategic Blueprint- Accelerating Our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency, which states that the Ministry will drive the review of the Telecoms Policy to account for core issues such as spectrum management, universal access, broadband penetration, net neutrality and quality of service (QoS).

“Hence, the consultation process and its outcome will support the work of the MSC and the Implementation Committee (IC) in coming up with a reviewed policy that will meet the current challenges of the communications sector and keep up with the rapid and dynamic changes since the current NTP was issued 25 years ago,” NCC stated.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said in the published consultation paper that the process will lead to the development of the first draft of the NTP 2026 to replace the existing NTP 2000, following 25 years of implementation.
The Commission said the draft will also undergo further consultations to enable stakeholders to make more input before a final draft is subjected to the statutory policy approval and validation processes.