The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has urged for significant investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to bolster the nation’s economy through the integration of digital technologies.
He made this call during a meeting with a delegation from the African Development Bank (AfDB) comprising Ms. Edosio Uyoyo and Traore Toho Syevie at NITDA’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
The delegation briefed Inuwa on various initiatives being implemented by the AfDB, sparking a discussion on the pivotal role of ICT in a country’s development. Inuwa stressed that ICT is instrumental in creating opportunities, enhancing service delivery, fostering job creation, improving security, and revolutionizing conventional approaches.
Highlighting NITDA’s commitment to this cause, Inuwa shared plans to construct additional Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and develop tailored modalities to meet the nation’s requirements, ensuring swift and accessible digital services for citizens nationwide.
Providing insights into NITDA’s strategic direction, Inuwa outlined the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024-2027), structured around eight pillars aimed at fostering digital literacy, building robust technology research ecosystems, enhancing cybersecurity, promoting inclusive access to digital infrastructure, nurturing innovation, and forging strategic partnerships.
He emphasized that NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap is aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s priorities to accelerate diversification through industrialization, digitization, and innovation.
Ms. Edosio Uyoyo, the Principal ICT and Innovation Expert from the African Development Bank, commended NITDA’s initiatives and programs across the country for their transformative impact on operational efficiency and service delivery. She emphasized the need for completion reports to guide future initiatives, expressing the Bank’s readiness to support NITDA’s ambitious targets for the next initiative period from 2025 to 2029.
“We are here for the completion reports to guide us towards planning for the next initiative of a four-year plan from 2025-2029. We want to know and understand key areas you are focusing on, and we need the bank to prioritize support to meet up with ambitious targets at the end of the project time frame,” she stated.
