{"id":725,"date":"2026-06-15T04:41:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T04:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=725"},"modified":"2026-06-15T06:54:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T06:54:57","slug":"nitda-urges-stakeholders-to-apply-innovation-ai-for-nigerias-digital-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=725","title":{"rendered":"NITDA urges stakeholders to apply innovation, AI for Nigeria&#8217;s digital future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General\/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency, explains the Port Harcourt Tech Expo 2026 is aimed at advancing technology-driven economic growth and innovation across Nigeria<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has restated the Federal Government&#8217;s commitment to leveraging innovation, digital skills, and emerging technologies to accelerate Nigeria&#8217;s transition into a globally competitive digital economy.<\/p>\n<p>NITDA, which made the commitment at the Port Harcourt Tech Expo 2026, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, participated in the event as a key stakeholder in discussions.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"NDfmwWTJCl\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=744\">Band A: Electricity consumers react to NERC\u2019s special compensation directive to DisCos<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cBand A: Electricity consumers react to NERC\u2019s special compensation directive to DisCos\u201d \u2014 ConsumerConnect \" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=744&amp;embed=true#?secret=jsgdiM9hbx#?secret=NDfmwWTJCl\" data-secret=\"NDfmwWTJCl\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Information Technology (IT) sector regulatory agency said the event was aimed at advancing technology-driven economic growth and innovation across Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General\/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITDA, delivered the Opening Keynote Address at the two-day event.<\/p>\n<p>The theme of the event was: &#8220;Syntropy: Collective Futures \u2013 Systems, Solutions, Synergy and Societies&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships at NITDA, addressed policymakers, technology leaders, startup founders, investors, academics, development partners, and young innovators.<\/p>\n<p>Inuwa emphasised that the future of Nigeria&#8217;s prosperity would increasingly be determined by its ability to harness technology, innovation, and human capital rather than reliance on natural resources.<\/p>\n<p>According to him, the global digital economy presents unprecedented opportunities for Africa and Nigeria to create jobs, attract investments, and improve productivity through emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and digital platforms.<\/p>\n<p>The Chief Executive of the agency said: &#8220;The future is not something we inherit; it is something we build.&nbsp; &#8220;Nigeria&#8217;s greatest resource is not oil but its people.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our ability to develop digital talent, foster innovation, and create enabling ecosystems will determine our competitiveness in the digital age.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Inuwa further stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technologies are rapidly transforming industries across the world and urged stakeholders to embrace innovation as a catalyst for economic diversification and sustainable development.<\/p>\n<p>He further highlighted NITDA&#8217;s ongoing implementation of the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0), which focuses on digital literacy, emerging technologies, innovation, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and inclusive economic growth.<\/p>\n<p>The Director-General&#8217;s keynote as well underscored the need for stronger collaboration among government, industry, academia, development partners, and the startup ecosystem to unlock the immense potential of Nigeria&#8217;s youthful population.<\/p>\n<p>The Port Harcourt Tech Expo brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders to deliberate on issues relating to Artificial Intelligence, startup development, digital skills, innovation financing, technology adoption, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem growth.<\/p>\n<p>NITDA disclosed the participants in the event explored opportunities for positioning the Niger Delta as a major hub for technology, innovation, and digital entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n<p>It discussed strategies for addressing challenges related to skills development, startup financing, infrastructure, and technology commercialisation.<\/p>\n<p>During the event, NITDA revealed it engaged with technology companies, startups, innovation hubs, academic institutions, and development partners on potential areas of collaboration aimed at advancing digital inclusion and innovation-led development.<\/p>\n<p>The agency equally deployed the platform to amplify several of its flagship initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>These, NITDA stated, include the Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) programme, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and programmes under the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI).<\/p>\n<p>In their remarks on the occasion, the agency said observers commended the NITDA leadership in driving Nigeria&#8217;s digital transformation agenda.<\/p>\n<p>It equally noted the growing impact of the Agency&#8217;s interventions in supporting startups, promoting digital literacy, and strengthening the country&#8217;s innovation ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>The agency disclosed the Expo concluded with a renewed commitment by stakeholders to deepen collaboration, support innovation, and create opportunities for young Nigerians to participate actively in the digital economy.<\/p>\n<p>As Nigeria continues its digital transformation journey, NITDA reaffirmed its commitment to fostering partnerships, developing talent, enabling innovation, and creating a technology-driven economy that delivers sustainable prosperity for all citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General\/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency, explains the Port Harcourt Tech Expo 2026 is aimed at advancing technology-driven economic&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, REpresenting the Director-General of NITDA, at the Port Harcourt Tech Expo 2026, Rivers State         Photo: 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href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=20\" rel=\"category\">Highlights<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?cat=4\" rel=\"category\">Markets<\/a>","tag_info":"Markets","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=725"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":755,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions\/755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}