The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has begun a full-scale rollout of its Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) programme across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
After concluding a pilot phase that reached over 150,000 participants in 12 states, the agency is now taking the initiative nationwide with one objective: to train at least 70% of the population with essential digital skills by 2027, and 95% by the end of the decade.
The DL4ALL programme is part of the Federal Government’s strategy to build a digitally capable society under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The stakes are high, and NITDA is treating this as a national emergency on digital illiteracy.
The structure of the training rests on six practical focus areas: Device and Software Operation, Information and Data Literacy, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Content Creation, Online Safety, and Problem Solving.
Each area is built to offer hands-on, accessible instruction, targeting not just urban dwellers but also communities in remote locations where access to technology remains limited.
“We are building a future where no Nigerian is left behind,” NITDA said. That statement reiterates the agency’s current approach—direct, ambitious, and firmly rooted in collaboration with local governments, development agencies, and private sector partners.
Unlike previous initiatives that usually stagnated after launches, DL4ALL is designed to evolve. It goes beyond conventional training models, blending digital inclusion with national development goals.
The idea is not to create millions of software engineers overnight, but to ensure that the average Nigerian understands the basics of digital tools well enough to function, grow, and even innovate within today’s economy.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has consistently pushed for measurable outcomes. Earlier this year, he unveiled plans to train 1.1 million residents in Enugu State alone by 2027, under the same programme.
It’s part of a wider digital literacy agenda that includes the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative. According to him, “All training programmes of this administration are geared towards ensuring that 90% of Nigerians are digitally literate by 2030.”
Dr. Tijani also made it clear that this doesn’t mean the country is trying to produce 90% software engineers. “Being digitally literate does not mean that 90% of Nigerians will become tech talents,” he said. “It means they would be given the foundation to be able to choose to participate in the digital economy.”
That foundation is exactly what DL4ALL intends to provide; as the programme scales across the country, NITDA has promised to monitor progress, measure impact, and adjust where needed to ensure the outcomes are tangible and inclusive.
