Nigeria’s drive toward a fully digital economy is gaining momentum as the Federal Government advances an e-governance and digital economy bill aimed at strengthening regulations for emerging technologies and boosting innovation across the public sector.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, represented the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, at the Global Partnership for Human-Centric ICT Standardisation (GIST) Nigeria Introductory Stakeholder Workshop in Abuja.
Speaking at the Global Partnership for Human-Centric ICT Standardisation (GIST) Nigeria stakeholder workshop in Abuja, the Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, representing the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said Nigeria has moved from strategy development to implementation of its national AI roadmap.
He explained that the current phase focuses on establishing clear regulatory guidelines to ensure artificial intelligence deployment aligns with ethical standards, accountability, and data protection safeguards.
As part of the broader push, the government is prioritising data classification to improve access to high-quality datasets for AI training, while also accelerating cloud adoption across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to improve efficiency and service delivery.
Inuwa emphasised the need for a “cloud-first” policy, cautioning that reliance on on-premise systems could hinder large-scale digital transformation. However, he noted that cloud integration would be carefully managed to protect Nigeria’s digital sovereignty and sensitive national data.
Progress is also being made in e-governance, including the development of an interoperability framework and the Nigerian Government Enterprise Architecture, alongside a data exchange platform to support Government Statistics Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). These initiatives are expected to improve coordination and data sharing across government institutions.
He stressed that collaboration between government, industry, and stakeholders is critical to building resilient digital infrastructure, expressing confidence that the proposed legislation will enhance transparency, innovation, and inclusive growth.
Also speaking, Peter Marien of the European Commission highlighted the importance of international cooperation in shaping global digital standards.
Marien noted that the European Union’s digital strategy prioritises partnerships and ecosystem alignment, citing ongoing collaborations involving Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He described Nigeria’s participation in the GIST initiative as a strong signal of its commitment to global digital governance.
He added that standards function as the “invisible backbone” of modern digital societies, enabling critical systems across sectors, while platforms like GIST support knowledge exchange and alignment of technical standards globally.
The proposed bill and related initiatives are expected to position Nigeria more strongly within the global digital economy, while accelerating adoption of AI, cloud computing, and data-driven governance.
