The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has called on state governors to forge stronger partnerships with the Federal Government to accelerate Nigeria’s digital transformation and inclusive growth.
Speaking during a high-level visit to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Secretariat in Abuja, Inuwa stressed that the nation’s vision for digital prosperity can only be achieved through collective effort across all tiers of government.
“Our mandate isn’t just federal it’s truly national, which means it must embrace state and local governments,” Inuwa stated. “We must strengthen collaborations that embed our initiatives directly within state and local structures.”
He outlined Nigeria’s digital progress, noted that when NITDA began operations, fewer than 500,000 Nigerians used computers and ICT contributed less than 0.5% to GDP. Today, the sector contributed over 17% to GDP, with more than 130 million internet users nationwide.
According to Inuwa, these gains were made possible through strong partnerships among government institutions, private organisations, and development partners. He reiterated NITDA’s vision of building “a digitally empowered nation that uses technology to drive national prosperity,” anchored on the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) built around eight key pillars.
He identified the first pillar—Fostering Digital Literacy and Cultivating Talent as central to the agency’s mission. NITDA, he said, aims to achieve 70% digital literacy by 2027 and 95% by 2030 through initiatives such as the 3 Million Tech Talent (3MTT) Programme and the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF).
Under this plan, NITDA is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC), and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to integrate digital skills training into all levels of the education system.
Inuwa also revealed ongoing partnerships with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train civil servants and corps members through the NYSC Digital Literacy Champions Initiative, which targets over 10 million Nigerians annually, particularly in the informal sector.
“No one succeeds in isolation. We must work as an ecosystem to create prosperity and inclusivity through technology,” Inuwa said.
He further invited state governments to participate in NITDA’s upcoming International Conference on Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) and Digital Nigeria Conference, designed to promote cross-state collaboration and digital innovation.
In his remarks, Dr. Abdulateef Shittu, Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, described NITDA’s visit as a significant step toward stronger intergovernmental collaboration on the digital economy.
“Technology has become a key enabler of competitiveness, opportunity, and inclusive development,” Dr. Shittu said. “We deeply appreciate NITDA’s leadership in driving Nigeria’s digital transformation.”
He highlighted ongoing NGF-led initiatives such as the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Readiness Report and the Intelligent Revenue Authority Readiness Report, which guide subnational reforms in digital identity, data exchange, payments, and trust systems.
“With strong partnership and shared accountability, we will unlock a future where every Nigerian, urban or rural, has access to the tools and opportunities of the digital age,” Shittu concluded.
