By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
Nigeria
made significant progress in advancing its digital economy agenda in 2025,
laying critical foundations for large-scale execution and impact in the years
ahead, according to the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital
Economy, Dr. ’Bosun Tijani.
In
a year-in-review statement released at the start of 2026, the Minister
described 2025 as an inflection point that marked a shift from policy ambition
to committed execution. He noted that much of the year’s work focused on
securing approvals, mobilising partnerships, and ensuring that national digital
priorities were positioned for delivery at scale.
Several
long-term initiatives reached key milestones during the year. Project BRIDGE,
Nigeria’s national fibre backbone programme, progressed to approval by the
World Bank Board, anchoring sustained investment in nationwide connectivity.
The NUCAP Towers Programme also received approval, enabling the planned
deployment of 3,700 telecommunications towers to extend services to unserved
and underserved communities, including rural and riverine areas.
On
the policy and regulatory front, the Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill
advanced to its final stage of approval, strengthening the legal framework
underpinning Nigeria’s digital transformation. The Federal Executive Council
also approved the exploration of a franchise-based transformation of the
Nigerian Postal Service, a move aimed at repositioning more than 1,500 postal
locations as platforms for inclusive digital and government service delivery.
In
the area of emerging technologies, the Ministry launched N-ATLAS, Nigeria’s
national large language model initiative, as part of efforts to build sovereign
artificial intelligence capabilities and long-term national capacity. Digital
skills development also remained a priority, with continued expansion of the 3
Million Technical Talent programme to grow Nigeria’s pool of digitally skilled
professionals.
To
support digital trade and international partnerships, the Ministry launched the
Digital Trade Desk and activated it through trade missions to the United States
and Sierra Leone, translating domestic digital capacity into export and
collaboration opportunities.
During
the year, Nigeria also delivered its Digital Public Infrastructure Standards
and Framework, establishing a common architectural reference to guide
interoperable digital systems across government. In parallel, the Ministry
implemented the Devs in Government initiative to strengthen in-house digital
delivery capabilities, while advancing preparatory work on a national data
exchange system and introducing National Web Design Standards to improve the
quality and consistency of public digital services.
Nigeria’s
global digital engagement was further strengthened through coordinated
participation in international forums, including the United Nations General
Assembly, VivaTech in Paris, and the EU–Nigeria Digital Economy Open Day in
Brussels. These engagements reinforced Nigeria’s position as a credible partner
in digital infrastructure, talent development, artificial intelligence, and
digital public infrastructure, contributing to new partnerships and
investments, including a €45 million EU–Nigeria Digital Economy Package.
The
telecommunications sector also recorded notable developments during the year.
Measures such as tariff rationalisation, tax harmonisation, and the protection
of critical national digital infrastructure were implemented to restore market
sustainability and investor confidence, creating conditions for accelerated
network expansion, deeper broadband penetration, and increased contributions to
economic growth and digital inclusion.
Dr.
Tijani noted that all initiatives were pursued in alignment with the Renewed
Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose leadership provided policy
clarity and institutional backing for long-term digital reforms. He emphasized
that 2026 would mark a decisive shift toward deployment and impact, with a
focus on expanding connectivity, activating digital service platforms,
deepening talent pipelines, enabling interoperable digital public
infrastructure, and translating digital capacity into tangible economic and
public service outcomes.
The
Minister expressed appreciation for the collaboration and trust of stakeholders
across government and the private sector, and reaffirmed his commitment to
sustained delivery as Nigeria enters the next phase of its digital economy
journey.
