The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that the failure of telecommunications companies to purchase 5G spectrum licences was largely responsible for its low revenue generation in 2024.
The NCC’s Director of Financial Services, Yakubu Gontor, and its Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Maida, revealed this during the 2025 budget defence before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Communications on Thursday.
Addressing the committee, Gontor said the commission was unable to auction the 5G spectrum primarily due to market conditions.
He said, ‘Two large operators already have 5G spectrum, and they are actually underutilising it. The third-largest operator, whom we were relying on to purchase the spectrum, unfortunately indicated that this was not the right time, stating that their strategy was to expand their fortune.
‘So we were operating on very little margins. We had one slot to sell and only one potential buyer. As you know, 9Mobile is currently going through a restructuring of its finances’.
Gontor also noted that despite the 50 per cent telecom tariff hike, the NCC may not generate more revenue from spectrum sales this year.
‘We have also made it clear to them (telcos) that the priority this year is to improve service. Spectrum is one of the resources required, but unfortunately, when you look at where they prioritise their investments, it’s not spectrum’, he added.
He noted that with the introduction of new technologies, including 6G, the Federal Government stands to generate over $1 billion in revenue.
He said, ‘When it comes to spectrum sales, it follows a 10-year cycle for two reasons. First, just like leasing a piece of land, you celebrate when they pay for a 10-year lease, but for the next nine years, you rely on that one-time payment’.
On the 2025 budget, he said the NCC has a projected total revenue of N272.43billion.
He added, ‘The major components of that revenue include an operating levy of N205.7 billion, spectrum fees of N49.78 billion,and other income sources.
‘Our total recurrent expenditure projection is N95.67 billion, while our total projected capital expenditure is N10.74 billion. For special projects, we have a projection of N30.13 billion’.
Speaking on the 2024 budget performance, Maida stated that the NCC generated N195.8billion in revenue in 2024, out of which N111 billion was remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
According to him, N137.6 billion was earned from annual operating fees, while N26.4 billion came from spectrum fees, among other revenue sources.
Maida, however, told the committee that the commission had targeted N292.3 billion in earnings for the fiscal year but missed the target largely due to its inability to auction one slot of the 5G spectrum.
He said, ‘That also affected the transfer to the Federal Government because a significant proportion of spectrum fees is remitted to the CRF.
‘But if you recall, in the 2024 budget, we also assumed that we would receive a 12.5 per cent cost of collection from the Federal Government’.
Earlier, the co-chairman of the committee, Aliyu Bilbis, stated that the NCC’s submissions would enable members to ask relevant questions aimed at enhancing the commission’s operations in the 2025 fiscal year.
