The forum, scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2026, at the Welcome Centre Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, will bring together policymakers, tech innovators, and civil society under the theme: “Sustaining WSIS Vision with Multistakeholder Synergy in Nigeria.”

This year’s theme aligns with the recent UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/80/173, which reaffirms the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) vision.

The 2026 NDSF aims to address the critical need for connecting all citizens, ensuring the affordability of digital technologies, and increasing investment in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to bridge the widening digital divide.

Speaking on the upcoming event, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, Group Executive Editor and Lead Consulting Strategist at ITREALMS Media, emphasized that the stability of Nigeria’s digital economy depends on collaborative security.

“Building an inclusive, open, and secure digital space remains paramount,” Nweke stated. “Beyond connectivity, we must ensure that our digital ecosystem protects children online and remains resilient against global threats. The 2026 NDSF serves as a catalyst for the multistakeholder synergy required to achieve these goals.”

Key Highlights of NDSF 2026:

Focus on Emerging Tech: In-depth discourse on IPv6 adoption, Domain Name System (DNS) security, and the evolution of Digital Public Infrastructure.

Child Online Protection: Strategies for creating a safer internet for the younger generation.

Strategic Collaboration: Continuing a long-standing partnership with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), NITDA, and Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Smart Infrastructure: Exploring how telecommunications and satellite technology can drive the “Smart Nigeria” agenda.

The forum will feature a keynote address titled “Sustaining the WSIS Vision via Telecoms: Driving Multistakeholder Synergy for Nigeria’s Future,” expected to be delivered by leadership from the nation’s top regulatory bodies.

Since its inception, NDSF, hosted by DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA), an ICANN-certified At-Large Structure; has been at the forefront of motivating public discourse on the business and technological benefits of advancing internet governance.

Members of the press, stakeholders in the ICT sector, and the general public are invited to join this milestone event to help shape the trajectory of Nigeria’s digital sovereignty.

The presentation and review of the book, “The Village Priest” by Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, largely described as a powerful narrative explored the intersection of tradition and innovation in rural Igboland, received widespread acclaim, with its themes resonating deeply with the event’s focus on ‘Global Digital Compact: Opportunities for Multi-stakeholders in Nigeria.’

The highly anticipated review was delivered by Mr. ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a renowned social entrepreneur and advocate for digital rights and inclusion in Africa.

Sesan lauded Nweke’s prose fiction for its insightful portrayal of “innovative technology adaptation transforming rural communities,” describing it as “a careful work of cultural documentation, offering not just a story but a chronicle—a record of transition that many rural and even urban African communities continue to live through.”

Sesan’s review highlighted the book’s central character, Ogboo AniEze, the revered chief priest of Ilimefo, whose life is dedicated to preserving his village’s customs. The narrative unfolds as “the village and its people, their traditional practices and strong cultural heritage at the crossroads!” with the arrival of GSM technology—a “strange and mysterious piece of technology” that initially challenges Ogboo AniEze’s traditional views.

The review detailed the chief priest’s journey of reconciliation, from initial fear of GSM eroding cultural heritage to a profound understanding that the technology “also offered opportunities for growth, development, and connection with the wider world.” This transformation leads to a new era of harmony in Ilimefo, where “tradition and modernity coexisted in balance.” The book beautifully illustrates how mobile phones become “a powerful tool for preserving the village’s cultural heritage” and how interfaith collaboration, particularly with Catholic priest Fada Ekie, fosters a “fusion of traditions” and a “new spiritual identity.”

“It teaches us, without preaching,” Sesan concluded, “that true innovation is not in abandoning our roots, but in strengthening them with new tools.”

This year’s Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum, was presided over by Dr. Jimson Olufuye, former President of the Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria and a member of the UN Secretary-General’s IGF Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG), served as a crucial platform for discussing the future of digital governance.

Olufuye also commended the author, Nweke for his perseverance in serving the ICT industry as well as endearing documentation of the sector.

For the Managing Director, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, the latest book by Nweke depicts the gift of in depth creativity and urged him on, despite the challenges the sectorial environment throws at industry players.

Organized by ITREALMS Media and hosted under DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA), an At-Large Structure certified by ICANN, the forum brought together key partners including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, Internet Society Nigeria chapter, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and ICANN.

The NDSF series, running since 2009, continues to “motivate public discourse and create awareness on the technological cum business benefits of rapidly advancing technologies capable of impacting on Internet Governance, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domain name industry, access and affordability,” while offering a vital platform for industry networking.

The event not only celebrated the literary achievement of Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, a multiple award-winning journalist, but also reinforced the commitment of ICT stakeholders to fostering digital inclusion and innovation across Nigeria.

Igbalajobi, according to the Lead Consulting Strategist, DigitalSENSE Africa and Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media, Mr. Remmy Nweke, would focus on the subtheme of “5G: Data Governance and Cyber Security.”

This year’s theme, Nweke said, is on ‘5G: Data Governance, Safety and Security in Nigeria’ to be presided over by a professor of Information Security and president, Nigeria Computer Society, Prof. Adesina Sodiya.

Nweke also said that Igbalajobi, the Principal Consultant at CyberCode Limited is a passionate selfless seasoned information cum cyber security expert with hands on technical experience and management of information security best practice.

The convener had earlier revealed that other speakers at the 14th edition including the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chief Executive Officer of Wisdom Computer Technologies, Mr. Francis Uzor and Mr. Igbalajobi of CyberCode Ltd.

NDSF series on IG4D, powered by ITREALMS Media group and hosted by DigitalSENSE Africa, an At-Large Structure (ALS) certified by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in collaboration with NCC alongside IXPN, ALTON, ISOC among others.

The lead speaker, Nweke further said, is the EVC of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who in 2021 emerged the ITREALMS Telecom E-Waste Regulator.

Danbatta, he equally said, is currently serving a second term of five years in office, earned his BEng, MSc degrees from the Technical University of Wroclaw in Poland and received his PhD from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).

Reputed to having successfully spearheaded the attainment and surpassing of Nigeria’s national broadband target in 2018, NCC led by Prof. Danbatta banks on effective regulatory regime and various cutting-edge initiatives, Danbatta has strengthened the role of telecommunications sector as a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and boosted telecoms investment inflows from $36 billion to over $70 billion since 2015, among others.

Before his appointment to lead NCC in 2015, Danbatta, who is a professor of telecommunications engineering, had worked in academia as lecturer where he supervised more than 60 PhD, MEng and BEng projects in diverse areas of telecommunications, rising to the position of Acting Vice-Chancellor in a Nigerian university.

He was the Vice-President of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), an international centre for advanced communications studies established in 2004 by the Commission (NCC) for capacity in diverse areas of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to name a few.