The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to leveraging the digital economy to promote inclusive development, empower citizens, and foster national unity.
Speaking at the 2-Day Interactive Session on Government–Citizens Engagement, organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation at Arewa House, Kaduna, Inuwa emphasized that digital transformation is central to the delivery of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The event, themed “Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government Engagement for National Unity,” convened key stakeholders from government, civil society, academia, and the policy space to assess the progress of governance delivery and citizen inclusion.
Inuwa stated that the digital economy is not just a sector but a foundational enabler for progress across agriculture, education, healthcare, and financial services. “Digital technology is not a vertical sector; it is pervasive and foundational. It powers everything else and provides a framework for inclusive growth,” he said.
He outlined NITDA’s strategic interventions across three focus areas: human capital development, digital infrastructure, and innovation-driven entrepreneurship, all geared toward realizing the President’s eight-point development priorities.
Highlighting human capital as Nigeria’s greatest asset, the NITDA boss disclosed that over 350,000 individuals in Northern Nigeria have been trained in digital skills since 2023 under initiatives like the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and the Digital Literacy for All campaign. He projected that by 2027, over 70 percent of Nigerians would attain basic digital literacy.
To achieve this, NITDA is partnering with the Federal Ministry of Education to integrate digital skills into the school curriculum from the foundational level to tertiary education. Collaborations with the National Universities Commission (NUC) are also underway to embed digital literacy into the general studies curriculum across universities. Additionally, NITDA is working with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train corps members as digital literacy ambassadors for rural communities.
On infrastructure, Inuwa revealed that the Federal Government has approved the deployment of 90,000 kilometers of fibre optic cables nationwide to deepen broadband penetration. He added that three digital centres are being established in each state to ensure inclusion for underserved communities, with Northern Nigeria poised to benefit substantially.
“In the last two years, we have established 13 IT Community Centres, 101 Digital Economy e-Learning Centres, and one Cybersecurity Research Centre,” he noted.
He also highlighted the renewed global investor interest in Nigeria’s tech space, driven by reforms under President Tinubu. Tech giants like Google and Microsoft are now making fresh investments in the country.
Inuwa announced that Nigeria is set to host two major global tech events: GITEX Nigeria in September and the UN’s ICT for Governance (ICEGOV) Summit in November—events expected to draw top global innovators and investors.
The DG concluded by emphasizing that Nigeria’s digital economy holds the power to unify the nation through equitable access to knowledge, opportunity, and innovation.
