The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has announced that Nigeria’s long-awaited Digital Switch Over (DSO) project is now fully ready for nationwide rollout.
The Minister made the announcement during an inspection tour of facilities belonging to NIGCOMSAT at the Obasanjo Space Centre on Wednesday, alongside the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Charles Ebuebu, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIGCOMSAT, Jane Egerton-Idehen.
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Describing the development as a major milestone for Nigeria’s broadcast industry, Mohammed Idris said the initiative reflects the reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“This is a new dawn for our country. The promise that President Tinubu made to reform all sectors is now being seen in action in the broadcast industry,” the Minister stated.
He revealed that after years of delays, the Digital Switch Over platform is scheduled for official commissioning on June 17, 2026.
According to the Minister, the new digital broadcasting ecosystem will provide significant benefits for broadcasters, viewers and advertisers through improved audience measurement and analytics.
“This is going to bring a lot of advantages to broadcasters, viewers and advertisers. If you are viewing any particular station, you know who is viewing, what they are watching and how many people are watching,” he said.
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Mohammed Idris further explained that the project would deepen competition within the industry, improve access to free television services and enhance viewing quality across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The monopoly has been broken. Everybody is going to compete. Content is going to grow, viewership will grow and Nigeria is now moving from SD to HD broadcasting,” he added.
The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Charles Ebuebu, said the upgraded DSO system was designed to align with modern technology and changing viewing habits.
He disclosed that the platform would leverage satellite broadcasting and mobile applications to ensure nationwide accessibility beyond the pilot cities covered during earlier DSO phases.
“We’re going to have 100 channels by the day of launch and even more because more content producers are talking to us. We want to create one market and one platform for Nigeria,” Ebuebu stated.
He also highlighted plans for regional production studios and multilingual customer support centres across the country.
In her remarks, Jane Egerton-Idehen described the partnership between NIGCOMSAT and NBC as a strategic collaboration that has strengthened service delivery and improved operational standards within Nigeria’s digital broadcasting ecosystem.
According to her, ongoing investments and satellite expansion plans under the current administration would ensure reliable and uninterrupted services.
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“The work has only just started. The work has only just begun,” she said.
Other dignitaries on the tour included the Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority, Salihu Abdullahi Dembos; Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Baba Ndace; Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Mohammed Bulama; and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, among other senior government officials.