NCC reappoints Rudman to lead IPv6 push

…as Nigeria confronts internet growth challenge

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reconstituted the board of the Nigeria Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Council, retaining Muhammed Rudman as chairman to drive the country’s transition to the next generation internet protocol.

The inauguration of the new board in Ikeja, Lagos, signals renewed efforts by regulators and industry stakeholders to accelerate Nigeria’s migration from Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), whose address capacity has largely been exhausted globally, to IPv6, which offers virtually unlimited internet addresses and supports future digital innovations.

Rudman, who is also the chief executive officer of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), described the transition as a strategic national priority that goes beyond telecommunications and is critical to Nigeria’s broader digital economy ambitions.

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According to him, the migration to IPv6 will provide the foundation required to support emerging technologies such as 5G networks, the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, artificial intelligence applications, cloud computing, and other data-intensive digital services.

“The transition to IPv6 is a strategic national priority. It is essential for enabling Nigeria’s digital transformation, economic growth, and global competitiveness,” Rudman said during the inauguration.

Industry experts note that the world has effectively run out of new IPv4 addresses due to the explosive growth of internet-connected devices. While temporary solutions such as Network Address Translation (NAT) have helped organizations continue operating, they introduce complexity, performance limitations, and security challenges.

IPv6 was developed to solve these limitations by providing a significantly larger address pool, improved network efficiency, enhanced security capabilities, and better support for modern internet applications.

Rudman acknowledged the pioneering contributions of former council members, including Olusola Teniola, Funke Opeke, Mary Uduma, and Lanre Ajayi, whose efforts helped lay the groundwork for Nigeria’s IPv6 migration journey.

The newly inaugurated board reflects a broad industry coalition. It includes representatives from the NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPON), and the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN).

Veteran technology experts Chris Uwaje and Latif Ladid will serve as advisers to the council.

Beyond policy coordination, the council has been mandated to develop and supervise the implementation of Nigeria’s national IPv6 strategy, monitor adoption levels across sectors, identify technical barriers, and provide periodic reports to the federal government.

A major focus of the council’s work will be awareness creation and capacity building. The board plans to organize workshops, stakeholder engagements, and technical training programmes aimed at equipping network engineers across telecommunications companies, internet service providers, educational institutions, government agencies, and financial organizations with the skills needed to deploy IPv6 effectively.

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Analysts believe the move comes at a critical time for Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. With increasing investments in data centres, cloud services, fintech, artificial intelligence, and 5G infrastructure, reliance on legacy internet architecture could become a bottleneck to future growth.

The reconstitution of the council also sends a signal to enterprises and network operators that migration can no longer be treated as a long-term aspiration but an immediate operational necessity.

As Africa’s largest digital economy continues to expand, the success of Nigeria’s IPv6 adoption programme could determine how effectively the country supports billions of future internet connections, attracts technology investments, and positions itself within the next phase of global digital transformation.

For businesses, internet service providers, and technology operators, the message from regulators is increasingly clear: the future internet will run on IPv6, and preparations must begin now.