The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has inaugurated the Nigeria IPv6 Council to accelerate the country’s transition to next-generation internet infrastructure.
In his inaugural address, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, described the move as a major milestone in Nigeria’s digital evolution and a sign of readiness to compete in the global internet space.
The Council, the national chapter of the IPv6 Forum, was established to drive awareness, coordination, and deployment of IPv6.
However, adoption remains low, with 2026 data from the Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) placing Nigeria at about 5 per cent, far behind leading economies, which stand at over 40 per cent.
Maida said the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses and the rise of technologies such as 5G, IoT, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence make IPv6 adoption critical for national security, innovation, and economic growth.
He added that progress will depend on collaboration among government agencies, operators, academia, and the private sector.
The NCC, he said, has already laid the groundwork through partnerships, including a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), aimed at building technical capacity across both public and private sectors.
According to him, the newly inaugurated Council is expected to drive the implementation of a National IPv6 Deployment Strategy, which includes a target to significantly increase Nigeria’s adoption rate within the next three years.
The Council will also lead public awareness campaigns and strengthen Nigeria’s collaboration with international partners to align with global best practices.
Maida urged stakeholders to prioritise IPv6 deployment across their networks and platforms, stressing that investments made today will shape Nigeria’s digital competitiveness in the future.
The NCC boss expressed confidence that the Council’s work will help deliver a more secure, connected, and globally competitive digital ecosystem for the country.
The Chairman of the Nigeria IPv6 Council, Muhammed Rudman, stated that the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses remains a critical limitation to the growth of IoT, 5G, and AI, making migration to IPv6 urgent.
According to him, reliance on IPv4 with Network Address Translation (NAT) hampers security, performance, and innovation.
Rudman encouraged service providers to transition to IPv6 to avoid falling behind in the global digital economy.
Highlights of the event included a media chat with the EVC and a question-and-answer session.
