A new report by the Nigerian Communications Commission has shown that Lagos State Government collects the highest amount of taxes, fees and levies from telecoms operators in Nigeria.
The study examined the quantum of taxes, levies and fees collected by state governments and their impact on digital economy agenda of the Federal Government.
The findings showed that Lagos State collects 32.36 per cent of the total taxes, levies and fees collected by all states in the country.
The study revealed that next to Lagos, Gombe State collected 10.29 per cent of the total taxes, levies and fees and was followed by Delta State with 8.91 per cent.
The report stated, “Lagos having the highest score might be due to the fact that it is the commercial hub of the country housing the largest population in Nigeria, and in addition, is the headquarters of all the mobile network companies in Nigeria, with a huge roll out of terrestrial, sub-terrestrial infrastructure already in place.
“Lagos stands to have vast amount of businesses operating within its boundaries and most of the telecommunications organisations have their main operational offices within the region.
“Users of telecoms services of various scope are dispersed in and around the city and its environs, which makes it one of the major reasons for the concentration of telecommunications companies in the state.”
The study showed that 61 per cent of the areas of the states in Nigeria were unserved with telecommunication services while 39 per cent have access to telecoms services.
It said in spite of the significant progress made in the telecom Industry in Nigeria, there was still space for strong growth in the future.
It noted that broadband penetration remained weak at 45 per cent as of 2020 relative to peers such as South Africa and Egypt.
According to analysts, this is an indication that more investment is needed and there are significant earnings prospects for operators in the country.
It added, “The unserved area by telecommunications operators in the country is still wide and therefore there is still huge prospect for investment and higher profitability in the country.
“It can be found that majority of the states had high amount of areas unserved by telecommunications services.”
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