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By Chinenye Anuforo, Abuja
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital sovereignty and regional cooperation in digital governance, as global stakeholders gathered in Abuja for the 18th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2025).
The week-long engagements which also featured the West African Digital Governance Forum (WADGov) and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) E-Governance Expert Meeting convened ministers, regulators, private sector leaders, and development partners from more than 50 countries to deliberate on the theme, “Shaping the Future of Digital Governance through Cooperation, Innovation, and Inclusion.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Inuwa stated that digital governance has become central to national development, noting that data sovereignty and local innovation would determine Africa’s competitiveness in the global digital economy.
“Digital is not an accessory to development, it is its backbone. Africa’s digital sovereignty must be built on systems that protect our data, empower our people, and strengthen our capacity to innovate locally and compete globally.”
He highlighted that although Africa accounts for nearly 18 percent of the world’s population, the continent hosts less than one percent of global data centre and cloud infrastructure capacity, a structural gap he described as a strategic vulnerability.
According to him, achieving true digital sovereignty requires expanding domestic cloud capacity, promoting local data hosting, and strengthening regional digital interconnection to ensure that African data is governed and processed within the continent.
At the West African Digital Governance Forum, Inuwa urged member states to adopt shared digital frameworks aligned with the African Union Digital Transformation Strategy (2020–2030), stressing the need for interoperability, open digital ecosystems and cross-border service integration.
“When our services interconnect, our nations progress together. The real power of digital governance lies not in competition, but in cooperation.”
Similarly, at the APRM E-Governance Expert Meeting, he called for a continental model for assessing digital governance maturity that is inclusive, transparent, and rooted in African realities.
“E-Governance is not about automating bureaucracy; it is about humanising public service,” he added. “Citizens should experience government as moments of trust, registering a business in hours, accessing healthcare securely, or paying for services without friction.”
Inuwa also highlighted progress made under Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) drive — including the National Identification Number (NIN) system with over 126 million enrollments, the Data Protection Act 2023 to institutionalise digital trust, and talent development programmes such as the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) and Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) initiatives.
He noted that NITDA continues to work with regulators, private sector operators and development partners to strengthen domestic data governance in line with responsible data stewardship principles.
The successful hosting of ICEGOV 2025, the first time in West Africa, reinforces Nigeria’s positioning as a regional leader in digital policy coordination and governance innovation, he said.
“The future of governance will be co-created, not imported,” Inuwa stated. “Through collaboration and shared responsibility, Africa can build a trusted, inclusive and sovereign digital future that our citizens can see, feel and trust.”
