In line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration, particularly in improving governance for effective service delivery, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is intensifying efforts to create a one-stop-shop digital portal for all government services.
The initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to digitise 75 per cent of government services by 2027, a target now being actively pursued by various stakeholders.
This commitment was reiterated during a high-level meeting between NITDA’s director-general, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi and a delegation from the Ukrainian Embassy in Nigeria, led by its ambassador, Mr. Ivan Kholostenko at NITDA’s corporate headquarters in Abuja. The discussions focused on potential collaborations between Nigeria and Ukraine to enhance productivity, transparency and trust in government processes.
Despite previous efforts to establish a centralised e-government platform, such as OneGov.net, the NITDA DG emphasised that the agency has played a pivotal role in shaping the design, standard guidelines and implementation strategies for its establishment.
However, he noted that renewed commitment and extensive research into global best practices have reignited the drive to achieve this agenda.
“We have been researching how the UK, Kenya, and other countries have successfully implemented unified digital government service platforms,” Abdullahi stated.
“While such models cannot be directly transferred, we can learn from their experiences to develop a framework that suits Nigeria’s unique needs,” he added.
To accelerate digital transformation, Abdullahi proposed the introduction of legal frameworks to institutionalise the initiative. He revealed that NITDA has identified various models from other countries that enable government agencies to provide services through application programming interfaces (APIs), while some nations offer services exclusively through legally backed designated portals.
“If we truly want to achieve this goal, we need to have the necessary legal frameworks in place and begin the process of enacting these laws to ensure a smooth and effective digital transformation,” he emphasised.
He further disclosed that NITDA is engaging with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to ensure alignment with global digital governance standards. This engagement is expected to provide expertise and insights into structuring Nigeria’s digital transformation roadmap.
The proposed digital transformation is seen as a critical step towards enhancing efficiency in government operations, reducing corruption by minimising human-to-human interactions, promoting transparency through digital record-keeping and improving citizen experience by making government services more accessible.
“By leveraging global best practices and aligning with national policies, Nigeria can develop a smart, seamless and citizen-friendly digital government service experience,” Abdullahi concluded.
During the meeting, Ambassador Kholostenko highlighted Ukraine’s successful digital governance model, known as the Diia application. He explained that Diia is an ecosystem that integrates all state registers, databases and government services into a single digital platform.
Kholostenko emphasised that Ukraine, through its Ministry of Digital Transformation, is eager to support other countries in adopting similar models.
“We are interested in expanding this initiative and helping other countries create digital states that reduce bureaucracy, speed up access to government services, and minimise corruption risks by limiting human-to-human interaction,” he stated.
With NITDA’s renewed commitment and international collaborations like the one with Ukraine, Nigeria is poised to significantly advance its digital governance agenda. If successfully implemented, the one-stop-shop e-government portal will streamline public service delivery, enhance transparency and position Nigeria as a leader in digital governance in Africa.
