The Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN Commission) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have signed a five-year partnership for the establishment of digital technology projects that will accelerate digital transformation, innovation, and inclusive economic growth across the Southwest.
The projects are aimed at positioning the region as Nigeria’s digital hub, to open access for millions of citizens as part of the efforts to realise the national digital agenda.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at NITDA headquarters in Abuja, last week, with the partnership running from 2025 to 2030, covering Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo states.
The partnership encompasses digital literacy programmes, and extends to NITDA’s entire portfolio of initiatives, ranging from innovation hubs and technology development centres to startup ecosystem support and regulatory frameworks for the digital economy.
The partnership is expected to accelerate Nigeria’s efforts at achieving its goal of equipping 100 million citizens with digital skills by 2030 through the ‘Digital Literacy-for-All’ initiative. The Southwest, with its population density, concentration of tertiary institutions, and strong human capital base, is positioned as a critical contributor to the national target. DAWN Commission’s Digital Literacy and Startup Act Implementation Plan, developed ahead of the signing, provides the regional framework through, which the projects will be coordinated and measured across all six states.
Signing the MoU, NITDA’s Director General, Alhaji Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, highlighted the importance of regional collaboration as Nigeria’s most reliable path to balanced digital development. He pointed to the GDP gap between Lagos and other Southwest states as both a problem and an opportunity.
He said: “We cannot develop if one part of us is lagging behind.”
Abdullahi outlined plans to establish digital learning centres and functioning innovation hubs in every state.
The NITDA boss expressed optimism about a regional technology development model that would identify and build on each zone’s distinct economic strengths rather than replicating a single template.
He argued that the Southwest should not be solely a fintech corridor but that every state should cultivate its own innovation clusters tied to local industries and tackle peculiar challenges.
The NITDA boss applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to establish regional development commissions across Nigeria, describing it as a deliberate shift in pursuing national development.
He contrasted the newer commissions with their predecessors – the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the North East Development Commission (NEDC) – which were created in response to crises rather than as instruments of proactive planning. “Before, they were reactive. They were established because there were crises. That is why they were created – to solve crises.”
The DAWN Commission, he noted, exemplified the bottom-up dimension of that model, working from community and regional priorities upwards, while federal agencies push downwards from Abuja.
DAWN Commission’s Director General, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, described the partnership as a deliberate act of regional preparation.
He assured stakeholders that NITDA’s frameworks would not just be adopted in the Southwest but would be implemented and monitored, adding that federal digital infrastructure in the region is fully used.
“NITDA will get value from this MoU,” Oyeleye said.
“The credibility of regional coordination bodies like the DAWN Commission rests on what we produce, not merely on what we sign.”
The partnership places DAWN Commission as the coordinating layer between NITDA’s national programmes and the six state governments, giving the region both a direct channel to federal digital policy and a mechanism for domesticating those policies at state level. Both organisations have agreed to determine the governance structure for implementation.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
