The Presidential Office of Digital Engagement and Strategy (PODES) has partnered with Cyberpedia Internet Governance, an African Artificial Intelligence, Data & Cybersecurity corporation, to launch an AI-powered Civic Dialogue Initiative.
The partnership was announced ahead of Cyberpedia President Abiodun Sowemimo’s keynote address at the Cloudfest conference in Frankfurt, Germany—one of the world’s largest gatherings of tech industry leaders.
The initiative is focused on strengthening digital resilience and equipping citizens with tools to combat misinformation and disinformation in real time.
Under the leadership of Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital Engagement, O’tega Ogra, PODES is teaming up with Cyberpedia to leverage artificial intelligence in addressing the challenges of fractured digital attention and misinformation in Nigeria’s complex and linguistically diverse media environment.
Ogra explained that the partnership is rooted in two key pillars:
- Mapping Public Sentiment by utilizing AI to gather real-time insights across Nigeria’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape, which includes more than 400 languages.
- Grassroots Empowerment through collaborations with local influencers, content creators, community leaders, and cultural ambassadors to develop engaging, relatable content that promotes clarity, combats misinformation, and encourages constructive dialogue among citizens.
“This initiative is not about controlling the narrative—it’s about equipping Nigerians with the tools to lead their own informed conversations,” Ogra said.
“In an age of digital disruption, trust is the ultimate currency. Our goal is to build transparency by empowering Nigerians directly, meeting them on platforms where they already engage, debate, and form opinions.”
On his part, Abiodun Sowemimo, President of Cyberpedia Internet Governance, described the partnership as a blueprint for ethical digital governance in democracies.
“This initiative goes beyond Nigeria,” Sowemimo noted. “It is about demonstrating how democracies can harness technology ethically, ensuring greater citizen participation without compromising democratic principles.”
The initiative will prioritize digital literacy programs, including interactive mobile apps and gamified learning tools designed to help citizens identify manipulated content, fake news, and deepfakes.
As misinformation and disinformation continue to challenge democracies worldwide, Nigeria’s vibrant digital landscape—home to one of the continent’s youngest and most tech-savvy populations—makes it an ideal ground for testing scalable civic engagement solutions.
Additional details on the PODES-Cyberpedia partnership and its rollout will be unveiled in the coming months. Meanwhile, Sowemimo is expected to formally introduce the initiative later this week at Cloudfest in Frankfurt, where over 9,000 global tech leaders will gather.
