The Senate has approved the sum of N17 billion as a 2024 budgetary estimate for the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

USPF is an agency under the Nigerian Communications Commission saddled with the responsibility of promoting widespread availability and usage of network services and applications services throughout Nigeria to institutions, unserved, under-served areas or for under-served groups within the communities in the country.

Thursday’s approval followed a report by the Chairman of the Committee on Communications 2024 Budget of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Sen.  Bilbis, Aliyu Ikra representing Zamfara Central.

Lawmakers like Senator Adeola Olamilekan who threw their weight behind the approval, argue that more funds should even be considered to augment the agency’s operations, particularly against the backdrop of statistics that pegged Nigeria’s internet penetration rate at 55.4 percent of the total population at the start of 2023.