By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as well as its collaborating partner, e-Health Africa, has reaffirmed its commitment to achieve 95 per cent digital literacy by the end of 2030.
The Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, said this on Monday when a team from e-Health Africa, led by Mr Abdulhamid Yahaya, paid him a working visit in Abuja.
He said the 95 per cent digital literacy expected to be achieved by the end of 2030 was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to accelerate diversification through industrialisation and digitisation.
Mr Inuwa explained that working in synergy for the implementation of digital initiatives could be accomplished.
He said that NITDA, through its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (2023 -2027), was at the forefront of implementing seven out of nine strategic plans of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
“We will assess national digital literacy coverage by 70 per cent in 2027 and it will be a litmus test for the ambitious 95 per cent digital literacy coverage by 2030.
“The Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan is the foundation for building a resilient tech ecosystem that will strengthen the nation’s pursuit of sustainable economic development,” he said.
According to him, NITDA is actively working with development partners like GIZ, the UK government, and the Federal Ministry of Education to revise its curriculum for learning digital skills and facilitating Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Mr Inuwa also emphasised the importance of focusing on skills in demand to build a viable tech ecosystem.
According to him, the approach aims to address Nigeria’s digital illiteracy issues and promotes digital innovations for a robust and sustainable economy.
The director-general, who said that NITDA’s digital literacy centres were under-utilised, solicited for more investments in research and capacity building that would foster collaborations with the academia, start-ups, and non-governmental organisations.
He added that the agency was implementing the Federal Government’s Three Million Tech Talents (3MTT) initiative, which would bridge the IT talent gap.
He also said the agency was working to strengthen the nation’s cyber security system to gain the digital trust of citizens.
The NITDA chief added that the agency was engaging in some internal reforms to overcome fears associated with IT and digital services.
