Telecom
Information Technology Pivotal for Achieving Digital Nigeria– DG NITDA
Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has said that Information technology is connecting billions of people by providing them with access to knowledge and services, helping people to live more sustainably by making preservation or even regeneration of our natural resources possible.
The DG made this known on Wednesday during his remarks at the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) Innovative Forum Webinar with the theme: “Multi-Stakeholder Approach to National Recovery Post-COVID-19 Pandemic”.
He said, “The outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic has completely changed the way we live our lives.
“The onset of the pandemic has proven to be an extremely disruptive occurrence that has exacerbated the effects of several social issues previously unknown.
“This has also led to increase in entrepreneurial activities were Enterprises and individuals have shown increased creativity in tackling the challenges posed by the crisis.
“Virtual meetings are adopted by public and private institutions to address the issues of social distancing using video conferencing applications”.
Mallam Abdullahi asserted that in order to prepare Nigeria for the disruption caused by the Pandemic, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy under the leadership of the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has put in place many initiatives and programs towards a robust post COVID-19 experience, in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria.
The Policy, anchored on 8 Pillars – Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Promotion, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society and Emerging Technologies, and Indigenous Content Development and Adoption – outlines strategies for transforming Nigeria into a leading digital economy providing quality life and digital economies for all.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), one of the implementing arms of the Ministry, was mandated by the National Information Technology Development Act (2007) to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices, activities and systems in Nigeria.
The Agency’s role therefore is to develop Information technology in the country through regulatory standards, guidelines and policies.
It is the prime Agency for e-Government implementation, Internet governance and General IT development in Nigeria. Our activities in NITDA are aimed at fast-tracking the realisation of the objectives of NDEPS.
“We at NITDA, based on the directives of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, swiftly initiated several policies and programs for the technology ecosystem and startups to be able to withstand the potential impact of the Pandemic.
“We rolled out these initiatives in order to ensure that technology continues to enable innovation and entrepreneurship while addressing challenges of the society”, he said.
Tech4COVID-19 Committee was constituted with the aim of identifying the challenges the Technology ecosystem is facing during the COVID-19 Pandemic and to propose measures to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
“Members of the Committee were drawn from both the public and private sector and are key players in the Technology ecosystem who have made significant contributions to the Technology and Innovation ecosystem.
“The Committee’s recommendations include strategies to ensure we retain about 100,000 ICT Jobs as well as create additional 30,000 in Post COVID-19 Era through this initiative, he added.
The Agency organised Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge where Nigerians were challenged to come up with innovation to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic and beyond.
Over 1,500 startups participated and three emerged winners Algorizmi, a patient management solution particularly for victims of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Smart Disinfection Chamber, smart tunnel which can be used for disinfection of persons entering any location and Myclinic.ng, an online platform that enables users to hold video consultations with qualified medical doctors from anywhere and at any time, he asserted.
Mallam Abdullahi stated that “Nigeria has over 130 hubs and several hundreds of technology startups.
“These have the capacity of driving innovation and entrepreneurship, and stimulating the economy.
“The Academia, which has always been at the forefront of research and development, needs to expand its horizon to include innovation.
“We need more hubs in the academia to nurture the creativity of our youths. Collaboratively, we in NITDA are can make Nigeria a nucleus of innovation.
“To improve agricultural practices and create jobs, we initiated the National Adopted Village for SMART Agriculture (NAVSA), an ecosystem-driven digital platform where we engage farmers and focus on using precision/smart farming techniques to ensure significant improvement in efficiency and productivity thereby increasing crop yield; increased profit margin and create more jobs.
“We are partnering with relevant stakeholders to ensure the success of the scheme.
“As an example, MTN has developed a special package for smart farmers that come with 4G SIM cards with a one year internet data subscription, he added.
The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), aimed at safeguarding the rights of persons to privacy, fostering safe conduct for the transactions involving the exchange of personal data, preventing manipulation of personal data, and ensuring that Nigerian businesses remain competitive in international trade through the safeguards afforded by a just and equitable legal regulatory framework, facilitated the creation of 2,686 jobs, added over 2 billion naira into the economy, and generated over 12 million naira to the Federal Government by filing Audit Reports.
The Agency has also deployed ICT infrastructure across the country. In addition to the numerous capacity building programmes in line with the Digital Literacy and Skills pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, the Virtual Learning Platform of the NITDA Academy for Research and Training that provides access to wide variety of programmes from industry stakeholders has so far attracted over 33,000 active learners.
Earlier in his remarks, Mr Ike Nnamani, president Medallion Communications, stated that skills acquisition is key to the growth and development of any country.
“There is need to improve in the services rendered to the public and at the same time the price should be reasonable for affordability.
“Telecommunications is moving to data which is the new trend simple because of its easy access and usage which makes work faster and easier.
“Data centers are imperative towards the delivering services to the public which will boost the economy’s output, he added.
Nnamani asserted that there is need to build more data center across the country to provide easy access to services, simply because subscribers need good service to effect their operations which will aid the swift growth and development of the country Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr Aderemi Adejumo, managing director CloudFlex, said that the programme is coming at the right time the country needs it the most and applauded NITRA for this initiative towards the drive of Information Technology development across the country.
He added that 90% of the businesses in the country are been moved abroad which is affecting the country’s GDP and output bringing about the fall in some sectors of the economy.
“The low implementation and push towards the growth of the IT sector has affected the activities of the sector and there is need to boost the sector simply because of its contributions to the Nations GDP.
Adejumo said that Nigeria is the most important economy to the world due to the vast population and the potentials embedded in the citizens towards achieving goals and objectives.
We need to boost the skills of our citizens which will bring out the potentials embedded in them towards the growth of the country.
NITRA Innovative Forum is annual Information and Communication Technology roundtable organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA).
The flagship event, which started in 2018, takes different sub themes each year to address the needs of the industry and set a pace for development.
This year, NITRA sees an enormous opportunity to ICT development and growth despite the COVID-19 scourge.
The event will seek to discuss the level of preparedness of ICT stakeholders to embrace the challenge of being pivotal to the stability and growth of all other sectors, during and after the pandemic.
A new non-profit advocacy group, the National Affordable Connectivity Advocacy Network (NACAN), has launched initiatives aimed at addressing broadband affordability challenges and promoting policy reforms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
Broadband
The launch coincided with the 2026 edition of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), themed: “Digital lifelines: Strengthening resilience in a connected world.”
NACAN said its primary objective is to bridge digital access gaps affecting Nigerian SMEs by reducing broadband costs, advocating regulatory reforms and improving digital capacity for small businesses.
As part of its rollout plans, the organisation unveiled the Southern Connectivity Voucher Pilot, a programme designed to provide subsidised data vouchers to small businesses in major commercial centres in southern Nigeria.
According to the group, the intervention is expected to reduce internet-related operational costs for businesses and improve digital access.
NACAN also announced plans to host the Niger Delta Digital Lifelines Roundtable in Port Harcourt, bringing together state ICT commissioners, internet service providers, telecom stakeholders and civil society groups.
The forum is expected to focus on strengthening resilient last-mile broadband infrastructure across underserved communities.
Speaking at the launch, National Coordinator of NACAN, Uchechukwu Emmanuel Ugochukwu, said internet access had become critical infrastructure for Nigerian businesses.
“In the current economic climate, internet access is no longer a luxury for Nigerian businesses; it is an infrastructure lifeline.
“We are debuting to ensure that high data costs and weak network reliability do not permanently exclude Nigerian SMEs from the global digital economy,” he said.
The organisation also unveiled a policy advocacy agenda targeting reforms on Right-of-Way charges and measures to reduce frequent network outages affecting businesses.
To deepen stakeholder engagement, NACAN said it is collaborating with industry groups including the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCIMA), and the APC ICT Directorate, alongside private sector partners.
NACAN described itself as a non-profit initiative focused on promoting digital equity for Nigerian SMEs through advocacy for affordable, reliable and secure broadband infrastructure.
The group said its long-term goal is to support the integration of local businesses into the formal digital economy and stimulate inclusive economic growth.
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has said that sustained collaboration among African countries remains central to the continent’s drive toward digital transformation.
The organisation stressed that building secure, interoperable and inclusive digital systems across Africa cannot be achieved in isolation, calling for stronger regional partnerships to accelerate innovation and shared infrastructure development.
The position was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Head of Corporate Communications at Galaxy Backbone, Chidi Okpala.
As it prepares to host a major delegation of policymakers, technology leaders and development partners in Abuja, GBB said the engagement would further highlight the importance of cross-border cooperation in shaping Africa’s digital future.
Okpala explained that the initiative is designed to provide both dialogue and practical exposure to Nigeria’s digital infrastructure ecosystem.
According to him, the visit will allow delegates to better understand how shared ICT systems are supporting governance and service delivery in the country.
“This engagement will provide an opportunity for African stakeholders to not only discuss policy frameworks but also see firsthand how digital public infrastructure is being deployed to improve efficiency, connectivity and innovation in the public sector,” Okpala said.
He added that GBB’s hosting role reflects its growing importance in advancing digital governance and infrastructure development across the continent.
“Galaxy Backbone is increasingly positioned as a key enabler of trusted digital infrastructure, and this engagement reinforces that role within Nigeria and beyond,” he noted.
Speaking ahead of the programme, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the future of Africa’s digital economy depends on the ability of countries to work together in building resilient systems.
“No single country can achieve the level of transformation required on its own. We must share knowledge, align strategies, and invest in systems that can serve the entire continent,” Adeyanju said.
According to the statement, the engagement will feature a continental dialogue themed “Building Africa’s Digital Foundations Together,” bringing together stakeholders from 11 African countries in Abuja.
The programme is being organised in partnership with Co-Develop, Smart Africa, and MicroSave Consulting, with discussions expected to focus on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), digital identity systems, secure connectivity, interoperability frameworks, and inclusive digital ecosystems.
GBB said delegates will also undertake a guided tour of its infrastructure and facilities in Abuja, where they will be exposed to Nigeria’s digital transformation journey and the systems supporting cloud services, cybersecurity, government connectivity, and digital platforms.
The company noted that the tour is intended to demonstrate how shared ICT infrastructure is strengthening governance and enabling more efficient public service delivery.
Participants are expected to explore practical pathways for accelerating the deployment of digital public infrastructure to support economic growth and institutional reforms across Africa.
GBB maintained that the initiative also confirms Nigeria’s position as a regional hub for digital innovation and infrastructure development, while deepening cooperation among African nations.
MTN Nigeria reinforced its commitment to supporting African storytelling and emerging creative talent at the 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), held on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Eko Hotels & Suites.
MTN Nigeria
Hosted by Bovi Ugboma and Nomzamo Mbatha, the star-studded event brought together some of the biggest names in African film, television, and entertainment for a night celebrating creativity, culture, and cinematic excellence.
As part of its participation at the Awards Night, MTN Nigeria sponsored the Best Short Film category, one of the standout moments of the evening aimed at recognising and rewarding emerging filmmakers shaping the future of African storytelling.
The award was presented by the General Manager, Enterprise Sales, MTN Nigeria, Febisola Oyeleye, alongside actor Jide Oyegbile.
The winning film, Hussaini, by filmmakers Orire Nwani and Josh Olaoluwa, earned both the prestigious AMVCA recognition and a ₦5 million cash prize sponsored by MTN Nigeria.
Speaking during the presentation of the cash prize to the winners, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, reiterated MTN’s commitment to youth empowerment and supporting the creative industry through platforms that spotlight emerging talent.
According to her, the brand remains intentional about supporting young Nigerians who continue to push boundaries through creativity and storytelling. “At MTN, one of the things that we are so committed to is youth empowerment.
We believe that the youth of Nigeria are actually the future of the country. When we see young people being productive and coming out tops in what they do, it speaks to their commitment and ability to move beyond boundaries.
One of the ways we support the creative industry is through the short film category, and we are delighted to see deserving winners who are obviously on their way to great things,” she said.
The filmmakers behind Hussaini also celebrated the win, with one of the creators describing it as a defining moment after multiple nominations in the category.
“This is our last nomination in this category, and I’m excited we finally have it,” he said. “Next year, we are coming for Best Feature Film.”
Beyond the Awards Night, MTN’s presence throughout the AMVCA week extended to initiatives such as Young Filmmakers Day and the #MTNFilmChallenge, both designed to spotlight emerging talent and create opportunities for young creatives to tell authentic Nigerian and African stories through film and digital content.
With its continued investment in platforms that celebrate creativity and empower young storytellers, MTN Nigeria once again highlighted the important role partnerships can play in shaping the future of Africa’s entertainment industry.
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