Nigeria has reaffirmed its resolve to spearhead Africa’s digital transformation, with a focus on innovation, research, and collaboration as the cornerstones of inclusive national development.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, made this declaration while formally opening the 18th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) 2025, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
The conference, themed “Shaping the Future of Digital Governance through Cooperation, Innovation, and Inclusion,” marks the first time the globally renowned ICEGOV event is being hosted in West Africa.
Inuwa described the occasion as a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward becoming a continental digital powerhouse, noting that the nation’s involvement in previous ICEGOV editions motivated its bid to host the 2025 edition.
“Our participation in previous ICEGOV events inspired us to take on the challenge of hosting the 2025 edition — the first ever in West Africa,” he said.
He credited the foresight of the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, for deepening Nigeria’s participation in ICEGOV and promoting the use of research and capacity development as tools for sustainable growth.
“The Honourable Minister believes that to build a robust and sustainable digital economy, Nigeria must invest heavily in deep research and innovation,” Inuwa added.
The NITDA boss stated that hosting ICEGOV 2025 aligned seamlessly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritized economic diversification through digitalisation, industrialisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation.
He emphasised that digital transformation is fundamentally about improving governance and service delivery to citizens.
“Digital transformation is not just about technology it’s about improving how we serve our citizens. Governance must meet people where they are, which today is online. Our goal is to build trust, efficiency, and better service experiences,” he affirmed.
Inuwa further explained that the Ministry’s Strategic Plan, titled “Accelerating the Nation’s Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency,” rests on five pillars — Knowledge, Policy, Infrastructure, Trade, and Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s youthful and digitally aware population as a major advantage in the global digital race.
The NITDA DG outlined ongoing efforts to strengthen digital literacy and public sector efficiency, including the National Digital Literacy Framework, collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education to integrate digital skills into school curricula, partnership with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to train public servants, and nationwide campaigns extending digital training to traders, transport workers, senior citizens, and faith-based groups.
Concluding, Inuwa called for greater collaboration and knowledge exchange across Africa to achieve digital self-determination.
“Our goal is to build the capacity, infrastructure, and right policies for Africa’s digital self-determination. ICEGOV provides the platform to learn, share, and shape that future together,” he said.
