Nigeria: NCC Unveils 2025 Corporate Governance Guidelines to Strengthen Nigeria’s Telecom Sector

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has launched its 2025 Corporate Governance Guidelines, setting a new benchmark for regulatory compliance and sustainable growth within Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

Unveiled during an event in Lagos on Wednesday, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, described the framework as a strategic initiative to foster transparency, secure investments, and strengthen digital trust in the nation’s booming telecom sector.

“This launch is not just about compliance. It’s about the sustainability of networks, of investments, of innovation, and of customer trust,” Maida stated.

The 2025 guidelines build on the Commission’s regulatory evolution that began in 2014 with the introduction of a voluntary code. The new framework incorporates stakeholder feedback from comprehensive public consultations held in 2023 and 2024, and aligns with international best practices tailored to Nigeria’s telecom landscape.

Key Highlights of the 2025 Guidelines Include:

• Strengthened board structures with sector-specific expertise.
• Mandatory mid-year and annual compliance reporting.
• Enhanced internal controls and enterprise risk management systems.
• Compulsory Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosures, focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency.

According to Maida, a 2024 NCC study revealed that telecom operators with strong governance structures consistently outperformed others in profitability, regulatory compliance, and service quality.

He encouraged operators to adopt the framework as a “toolkit for sustainable value creation,” urging investment in board capacity-building, improved risk governance, and the adoption of governance-linked performance metrics.

“We are here to engage, enable, and enforce—in that order,” Maida emphasized, reaffirming the Commission’s readiness to support operators throughout the implementation process.

The phased rollout of the guidelines will initially target operators under priority license categories. This move comes as the telecom sector, with over 200 million active subscriptions, faces increased cybersecurity threats, growing consumer expectations, and the need to rapidly scale broadband infrastructure.

“This is a decisive step towards building a resilient, ethical, and innovation-driven telecoms industry,” Maida concluded.