Telcos Reject NBS’ Report on Foreign Capital Inflow, Call for Enhanced Investment Reporting Framework

Telcos Reject NBS’ Report on Foreign Capital Inflow, Call for Enhanced Investment Reporting Framework

Emma Okonji

Telecoms operators (Telcos) under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), have rejected the Q1 2026 Capital Importation Report on telecoms sector released recently by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

While the NBS report showed a sharp decline in foreign capital importation into the telecommunications sector from $80.78 million in 2025 to $7.24 million in Q1 2026, the telecoms operators said the metrics used by NBS appeared to capture only a portion of the total capital actively deployed within the sector.

ALTON, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, and its Publicity Secretary, Damian Udeh, rejected the report and called for a collaborative engagement among Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), NBS, and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to develop a more inclusive and comprehensive investment-tracking framework.