The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has set up an Internet Governance Working Group to address gaps in stakeholder participation and help licensees comply with the Internet Code of Practice (ICOP) 2026.

The move follows a survey showing that only two of 19 licensees assessed were fully ready to implement the code, while nine reported partial readiness and five said they were not ready.

Presenting the findings at the commission’s Internet Governance Symposium in Lagos on Thursday, the NCC’s Head of Governance Unit, Dr Ibiso Kingsley-George, said licensees needed clearer implementation guidelines, reporting templates and guidance on the code’s requirements. She said cybersecurity obligations and provisions on artificial intelligence (AI) were among the most difficult requirements for licensees to meet.

The survey covered 47 respondents from industry, academia and civil society, including seven mobile network operators, five internet service providers and 12 academic institutions.

It also revealed limited participation in internet governance activities. About 53 per cent of respondents had participated in the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum, while 40 per cent had not attended any internet governance event. Five organisations reported no engagement at all.

Respondents cited low awareness, the absence of an internal mandate and the perception that internet governance was irrelevant to their businesses. About 34 per cent were also unfamiliar with the permanent mandate of the Internet Governance Forum.

The NCC said it would publish implementation guidelines and frequently asked questions, as well as organise workshops for licensees that were not ready to comply with ICOP 2026. The survey also highlighted gaps in AI governance. About 73 per cent of respondents were using or piloting AI, but only 39 per cent had an approved AI policy, while 34 per cent applied human oversight.

The new working group is expected to provide a continuing platform for engagement and help address participation gaps. Although 94 per cent said consumers should be informed when interacting with AI, 40 per cent preferred periodic reporting to notification before deployment.

Cybersecurity, online safety and child protection, data protection and cross-border data flows, and AI governance emerged as the leading priorities for 2026 and 2027.

Opening the symposium, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, who represented the Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Maida, said internet governance decisions affected economic opportunities, trust, security and users’ rights.

He said AI had raised new concerns about harmful content, fraud, privacy, accountability and the protection of children and other vulnerable groups.

“These questions cannot be answered by one institution alone,” he said, calling for greater collaboration among stakeholders.

Oshadami said the success of ICOP 2026 would depend on clear expectations, engagement with affected stakeholders and consistent implementation.

He added that the Cyber Resilience Framework for the Nigeria Communication Sector (CRF-NCS) called for stronger security and resilience across the infrastructure supporting digital services.

The symposium, the NCC’s first, also addressed the .ng domain, domain name system security, domain abuse and the ISO/IEC 42001 standard for AI management systems.

Oshadami urged participants to discuss implementation challenges openly and commit to fulfilling their responsibilities.