The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy have said it will soon deploy the Five Generation network (5G) in Nigeria for increased connectivity.

The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, announced this in Abuja when he featured on FORUM, a special News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) interview programme.

The minister said the decision to deploy the 5G network followed an outcome of thorough investigations, research and trial absolving it of posing security or health threat.

He explained that the work on the national policy on 5G stood at 95 per cent done and that it would be presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in due course.

Pantami, who said the primary concern of the government was to ensure security and welfare of Nigerians in their utilisation of services in the telecommunications sector, blamed the delay in the deployment of the 5G network on conspiracy theories.

NAN recalls that there were concerns that COVID-19 was associated with the deployment of the 5G communications network.

“Our government is a listening one. So, we listen to constructive criticism, respect it and appreciate it, and at least, we value it.

“We’d reached the advanced stage of 5G. Then, an issue came up that 5G was related to COVID-19. Many people, including the educated ones, started circulating it without verification.

“Naturally, people are a bit scared and sceptical about technology. So, we gave enough time to do more consultation, creating awareness in local languages to engage our citizens to address all the challenges.

“We set up a technical team that accommodated security, health and environmental institutions and the public sector so that we could be on the same page.

“I want to give you the assurance that a 5G communication network is in the pipeline,” he said.

Pantami said the ministry had started discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the spectrum for commercial purposes.