At the heart of the conference, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, was a clear message: Nigeria is ready to shape the future of digital governance through innovation, research, and collaboration.

A Renewed Digital Vision

Guided by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes economic reform, infrastructure development, good governance, and digital inclusion, Nigeria used the ICEGOV 2025 platform to reaffirm its commitment to driving a people-centered digital economy.

Leading this charge were Dr. Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and Kashifu Inuwa, director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Together, they echoed a unified vision: technology must not only fuel economic growth but also build trust, transparency, and efficiency in governance.

Setting the Global Digital Governance Agenda

Co-chaired by Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Rector of the United Nations University and UN Under-Secretary-General, alongside Dr. Tijani, the 18th edition of ICEGOV, themed “Shaping the Future of Digital Governance through Cooperation, Innovation, and Inclusion”, brought together experts from academia, government, and industry to explore how technology can improve public service and social inclusion.

Prof. Marwala, in his keynote, called for the responsible and inclusive development of artificial intelligence (AI), stressing that AI must serve humanity, not divide it.

“Artificial intelligence is shaping many areas of our lives, but it must be designed so that it does not leave anyone behind. AI will remain suboptimal until it works equally for all people, including Africans,” he said.

He urged leaders to democratize AI by ensuring that citizens have not only access to the technology but also a collective voice in deciding its use, a call that resonated strongly with Nigeria’s digital inclusion agenda.

Tijani: Innovation Must Serve Humanity

In his keynote address, Dr. Bosun Tijani described Nigeria as standing at the intersection of innovation, youth, and digital transformation.

“The state of a society reflects the ideas that dominate it. When good ideas strike, nations prosper; when bad ideas prevail, nations decay,” he said.

He introduced a thought-provoking model, the Source Balance Ratio, explaining how diverse ideas from government, civil society, academia, and the private sector must align to create effective digital policies.

Dr. Tijani emphasized that technology should always be guided by ethics and research rather than politics or profit.

“If our ideas are driven solely by short-term gains, we end up with regulations that react to innovation rather than guide it,” he cautioned.

NITDA’s Commitment to Digital Skills and Public Infrastructure

Echoing the Minister’s vision, Kashifu Inuwa described ICEGOV 2025 as a milestone in Nigeria’s journey to becoming a digital governance powerhouse.

He highlighted several ongoing initiatives under the Ministry’s strategic roadmap, Accelerating the Nation’s Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency, built on five pillars: Knowledge, Policy, Infrastructure, Trade, and Innovation.

Among the achievements he cited:

• National Digital Literacy Framework: to equip every Nigerian with digital skills from early education to adulthood.
• Collaboration with the Ministry of Education: to integrate digital literacy into school curricula by next year.
• 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Programme: training Nigerians in high-demand digital skills.
• Civil Service Digital Training Initiative: with over 24,000 public servants already enrolled.
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): development of a national data exchange platform and a Centre of Excellence for DPI to promote trust, transparency, and interoperability in governance.

“Digital transformation is not just about technology; it’s about improving how we serve citizens. Governance must meet people where they are, online,” Inuwa remarked.

Collaborating for Africa’s Digital Future

The conference drew a distinguished lineup of dignitaries, including Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, Minister of State for Education; Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (represented by Mrs. Fatima S.T. Mahmood); Senator Shuaibu Afolabi Salisu, chairman, Senate Committee on ICT & Cybersecurity; and Stanley Adedeji, chairman, House Committee on ICT.

They commended the Federal Government’s leadership in advancing digital governance, AI ethics, and innovation ecosystems, noting that sustained progress will depend on multilateral collaboration, institutional capacity-building, and stronger digital public infrastructure.

Nigeria’s Leadership on the Global Stage

As ICEGOV 2025 concluded, one message rang clear: Nigeria’s digital reform agenda is not a local ambition, it’s a continental mission.

With its growing investment in digital literacy, AI policy frameworks, and public sector innovation, Nigeria is positioning itself as a key player in shaping the future of electronic governance in Africa.

In the words of Dr. Tijani:

“Digital technologies are no longer just economic tools; they reshape our societies and our citizenship. Our responsibility is to ensure that innovation is guided by ethics, inclusivity, and the public interest.”

This confirmation by the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), according to statement on the ministry’s website, marks a historic milestone in our nation’s digital transformation journey, showcasing Nigeria’s leadership in digital governance, innovation, and technological advancements on the global stage.

ICEGOV is a prestigious global conference that convenes governments, academia, international organisations, industry leaders, and civil society to exchange insights, research, and best practices in electronic governance.

Hosting this event presents a unique opportunity to strengthen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, foster multidisciplinary collaborations, and drive policy innovations that will shape the future of governance in Africa and beyond.

Speaking on this momentous achievement, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, stated:

“Nigeria’s selection to host ICEGOV 2025 is a recognition of our efforts to drive digital transformation and innovation in governance. I am a firm believer in the importance of the academia and research in supporting global discussions on e-Governance and we have seen this in some of the input in government initiatives like the National AI Strategy and the National Digital Economy and e-Governance Bill which are laying the foundation for the growth of Nigeria’s Digital Economy. As we prepare to welcome you all to Nigeria, we look forward to very useful outcomes that will be beneficial for the growth of digital governance and policy development globally.”

With the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) serving as the Local Organiser, ICEGOV 2025 will provide a platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and policy dialogue, reinforcing Nigeria’s strategic role in shaping the future of e-Governance, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), and sustainable digital transformation.

This is to further support DPI’s effective design and implementation by the Federal Government.

Interested researchers from the wider academic networks are called to submit papers tailored to the workshop’s theme “Designing and Implementing Scalable and Inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in African Context”.

The DPI-tailored paper should be submitted into the following tracks of the conference:

• Track 1: Trust and Ethical Digital Governance for the World We Want.
• Track 4: Digital Transformation and Innovation in the Public Sector.
• Track 7: Future-ready Digital Workforce and Infrastructure Development.
• Track 10: Public and Private Sector Governing Digital Economies; and
• Track 11: Focus on the Global South Digital Transformation.

Sponsorship

The main author of the top three selected DPI-tailored papers will be sponsored to participate in the Special Workshop.

If your paper is accepted by ICEGOV, kindly notify NITDA by forwarding an acceptance notification by ICEGOV to llamid@nitda.gov.ng on or before 12 July 2024.

Special Dates

• Paper Submission Deadline: 21 April 2024
• ICEGOV Acceptance Notification: 10 July 2024
• Winners’ Announcement Date: 15 July 2024

Background on ICEGOV

ICEGOV is an annual gathering of academia, governments, international organisations, civil society, and industry to share the latest insights and experiences in the theory and practice of Digital Governance. The United Nations University (UNU-EGOV) organises the international conference in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The ICEGOV2024 will take place in Pretoria, South Africa from the 1st to the 4th of October 2024 at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg with a main theme of “Trust and Ethical Digital Governance for the World We Want”.

Objectives

Specifically, the objective is to:

1. Deepen Nigeria’s position in global research in key technology areas (the top 25 percentile) as proposed in the FMCIDE strategic plan;
2. Provide wider local and global perspectives to critical concepts of implementing and accelerating digital governance;
3. Strengthen Nigerian research leadership in digital governance in the Global South; and
4. Enhance Nigeria’s standing in the global digital community.

Why is Nigeria Participating?

ICEGOV2024 presents a great platform for Nigeria to further strengthen its evidence of digital governance position by presenting well-researched and world-class papers from academia, industry and the government.