By FUNMILOLA GBOTEKU/ADEOLA AYANDA

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has inaugurated the Nigeria IPv6 Council, urging coordinated and accelerated adoption of IPv6 to strengthen Nigeria’s digital competitiveness, security and sovereignty.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said this during the inauguration of the council in Lagos on Thursday.

He described the move as a defining moment in Nigeria’s digital evolution and readiness to lead in the next phase of the global internet.

Maida said Nigeria’s IPv6 adoption remained at about five per cent, far below the global average of over 40 per cent, noting that the country must act decisively to close the gap.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the latest version of the internet protocol used to identify and connect devices on the internet, designed to address the limitations and address exhaustion challenges of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4).

He said the exhaustion of IPv4 resources, combined with the rapid expansion of 5G networks, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services and artificial intelligence-driven applications had pushed legacy internet infrastructure to its limits.

“In this context, IPv6 is not optional; it is a strategic necessity for national competitiveness, security and economic sovereignty,” he said.

Maida noted that the transition required the coordinated efforts of regulators, telecom operators, enterprises, academia and government institutions, adding that no single stakeholder could drive the process alone.

He said the commission had been preparing for the transition through deliberate policies and partnerships.

Maida added that its partnerships included its collaboration with the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), which had supported capacity-building programmes across public and private sectors.

According to him, the council will drive alignment with a National IPv6 Deployment Strategy, which outlines clear, time-bound targets, including raising Nigeria’s adoption level to rank among Africa’s leading countries within the next three years.

He outlined key priorities for the council to include establishing a monitoring and reporting framework with quarterly updates and an annual national report.

Other priorities, the NCC boss said, included driving capacity building and certification of IPv6 engineers, and promoting public sector leadership through migration of government platforms to IPv6-enabled systems.

He said that other responsibilities included engaging industry players such as internet service providers, data centres, content providers and financial institutions to remove deployment barriers.

Maida noted that advising on policy incentives and regulatory frameworks to accelerate adoption are also responsibilities.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Muhammed Rudman, said the continued availability of IPv4 remained a major constraint, as many operators saw no immediate urgency to migrate.

He explained that while Nigeria had over 200 Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) and more than 100 networks with IPv6 allocations, only a limited number were actively deploying and assigning IPv6 addresses to end users.

“In simple terms, many operators have IPv6 capability, but it is not yet deployed in a meaningful way,” he said.

Rudman said reliance on Network Address Translation (NAT) under IPv4 had allowed multiple users to share limited IP addresses, but created challenges in security, traceability and performance.

He added that the council had developed a National IPv6 Implementation Strategy with clear targets, including achieving at least 20 per cent IPv6 compliance in government networks by 2027, 25 per cent active deployment among telecom operators, and about 30 per cent nationwide adoption by 2030.

According to him, the council also plans to intensify capacity building, with a target to train at least 50 professionals in IPv6 by October through structured programmes and partnerships with academic institutions and regional bodies.

Rudman noted that funding and skills gaps remained challenges, especially as many trained engineers had migrated abroad, making continuous training essential.

He said the implementation roadmap would begin with awareness campaigns and training in 2026, followed by policy integration and accelerated deployment through 2027, leading to broader national adoption by 2030.

In his remarks, a technology expert, Chris Uwaje, said Nigeria must move beyond reliance on legacy systems and embrace modern internet infrastructure to strengthen its digital sovereignty.

Uwaje stressed that IPv6 adoption required not just technical upgrades but a national shift in mindset toward innovation, local capacity development and infrastructure investment. (NAN)

•PHOTO, L-R: Tony Emoekpere, Council Member, National Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6); Engr. Abraham Oshadami, Executive Commissioner Technical Services, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC; Mr. Muhammed Rudman, National President, IPv6 Council; Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO,NCC; Barr. Rimini Makama, Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, NCC; Dr. Chris Uwaje, National Vice President, IPv6 Council; Mr. Adesola Akinsanya, President, National Internet Registration Association, NIRA/ Council Member, during the Inauguration of the National Internet Protocol Version 6, (IPv6) Council Members, at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State on the 23rd April 2026.

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