Silicon Valley’s tech giant, Google, through its chief executive for Nigeria, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor (photo), asked the Nigerian government to reduce taxes and other fees involved in laying fibre optic cables. This should, according to her, boost technology industry in the country, Reuters reported on May 9.

The executive said the industry’s development aligns with government’s diversification objective. “The private sector can play a very strong role,” Ehimuan-Chiazor said in this framework. She however added that many actors of the tech industry, internet services provides especially, complain about paying multiple taxes, amongst other challenges encountered when expanding their infrastructures. “Where the government can help is just removing some of those obstacles – for example bringing down right of way fees and removing this challenge around multiple taxation,” she recommended.

She also highlighted that Google has already laid fibre optic cables in Kampala (Uganda) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) but has no plans to do the same in Nigeria, at the moment.

Let’s recall that last March, Nigeria’s ministry of budget and planning urged the government to encourage local manufacturing of technology hardware to curb imports and generate foreign exchange. A move which falls in line with government’s goal to create 2.5 million jobs in the technology industry, by 2020.