By Oluwole Alao
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to leading Africa’s digital governance transformation, emphasising research, collaboration, and digital literacy as key drivers of inclusive national development.
This is in alignment with the presidential redefined priority areas of Reforming the Economy for Sustained Inclusive Growth, Enhancing Infrastructure as an Enabler of Growth, Improving Governance for Effective Service Delivery and Accelerating Economic Diversification through Digitalisation, Industrialisation, Creative Arts, Manufacturing and Innovation.
The NITDA DG made this known at the 18th edition of the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) 2025, themed “Shaping the Future of Digital Governance through Cooperation, Innovation, and Inclusion”, held at the Shehu Musa Yara’dua Centre in Abuja, north central, Nigeria.
ICEGOV was conceived in 2007 as an annual gathering to bring together academia, governments, international organisations, civil society, and industry to share the latest insights and experiences in the theory and practice of Electronic Governance.
It brings together diverse teams from multiple disciplines and cultures to tackle complex issues and emerging global challenges, with a focus on sustainable development, social inclusion, and active citizenship.
While describing the event as a remarkable milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward digital leadership, Abdullahi said, “Tonight marks a remarkable milestone in our journey to making Nigeria a leader in digital governance. Our participation in previous ICEGOV events inspired us to take on the challenge of hosting the 2025 edition, the first ever in West Africa.”
Abdullahi recalled that Nigeria’s increased involvement in ICEGOV was driven by the vision of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, who insisted that Nigeria must not only attend but also contribute through research and capacity building.
“Honourable Minister said he wants us to host workshops at the ICEGOV 2024 because he believes in research, and that if we really want to build a robust and sustainable economy, especially in the digital era, we need to invest heavily in deep research, especially in deep tech,” he stated.
According to him, hosting ICEGOV 2025 aligned perfectly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritised economic diversification through digitalisation, industrialisation, creative arts, manufacturing and innovation.
Asserting that the event’s theme mirrored the core of Nigeria’s digital strategy, the NITDA DG explained that co-creation and collaboration were central to the Ministry’s policies, ensuring that digital solutions were designed inclusively and reflected the needs of citizens.
He further disclosed that the conference theme aligned with the Ministry’s strategic plan of Accelerating the Nation’s Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency, which was anchored on five pillars: Knowledge, Policy, Infrastructure, Trade, and ‘Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital’.
He also spotlighted Nigeria’s youth advantage, noting that the country’s young, digitally native population presented a major opportunity for growth.
“Digital transformation is not just about technology. it’s about improving how we serve our citizens, and governance must meet citizens where they are, which is online. Our goal is to build trust, efficiency, and better service experiences,” Abdullahi averred.
To support this vision, Abdullahi detailed NITDA’s wide-ranging initiatives aimed at enhancing digital literacy and public sector capacity which include, the National Digital Literacy Framework, aimed at ensuring every Nigerian acquired digital skills from early education to adulthood, a collaboration with the Ministry of Education to integrate digital literacy into school curricula by next year, a partnership with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to train all public servants, with over 24,000 already enrolled, and nationwide campaigns to extend digital skills training to market traders, transport workers, senior citizens, and faith-based groups.
He underscored the importance of knowledge exchange and collaboration across Africa, calling for a united effort toward digital self-determination.
“Our goal is to build the capacity, infrastructure, and right policies for Africa’s digital self-determination. ICEGOV gives us the platform to learn, share, and shape that future together,” Abdullahi concluded.
