The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s firm commitment to achieving 95% digital literacy across Nigeria by 2030, with an interim milestone of 70% by 2027.
Inuwa made this declaration during a strategic engagement hosted by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Abuja, aligning with the Tinubu administration’s national priorities on economic reform, industrialisation, digitisation, and innovation.
“We started this journey in 2023 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came on board and he made it clear that economic diversification and inclusivity are part of the administration’s agenda,” Inuwa said. “And the president outlined this in 8 priority areas to achieve the vision, with priority number 7 specifically focused on accelerating industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation.”
Highlighting the pivotal role of human capital development in national transformation, the NITDA boss said the government has been deliberate in pushing digital skills as a foundation for growth. He noted that the agency’s National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF) serves as a strategic guide, benchmarked against global best practices, to equip all Nigerians—students and professionals alike—with essential digital competencies.
Inuwa stated that the NDLF incorporates six core competency areas: device and software operations, information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, content creation, safety, and problem-solving. He added that the framework is designed to accommodate basic, intermediate, and advanced levels of digital fluency.
According to NITDA’s estimates—extrapolated from the World Bank’s Better Life Report—Nigeria’s current digital literacy rate has increased from 44% in 2021 to 50% in 2025, despite persistent data gaps.
Inuwa also revealed NITDA’s ongoing partnership with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in developing a unified digital literacy curriculum. This curriculum, he said, is already being integrated across various levels of formal education, with engagements involving the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), and other critical stakeholders.
He further disclosed that NITDA has partnered with global platforms like Coursera to train teachers through AI-powered lesson generation tools, aiming to offer scalable, online training solutions to educators nationwide.
Recalling recent initiatives, Inuwa pointed to last year’s launch of the Digital Learning for NSUK (DL4NSUK) program, a collaborative effort with Nasarawa State University and CISCO, as an example of how Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are being prepared to produce globally competitive, digitally proficient graduates.
“This is not a journey we can walk alone; we must bring everyone on board—education stakeholders, technology providers, state governments, and international partners,” he stressed.
Responding to Inuwa’s presentation, UBEC Executive Secretary Hajiya Aisha Garba confirmed that the Commission has received the curriculum developed by NITDA and NERDC and has commenced internal reviews. She acknowledged the curriculum as “robust and forward-looking,” but stressed the need for it to be simplified for early learners and teachers.
“We’re committed to working with NITDA and NERDC to refine the curriculum, train teachers, and ensure effective delivery. Let us align the technical vision with grassroots realities to make a lasting impact,” Garba said.
She also cited curriculum overload, limited teacher capacity, and infrastructure challenges, particularly in rural areas, as key barriers to effective implementation. To address this, she pledged that UBEC, in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs), will lead efforts to equip schools with computers and solar-powered infrastructure to enable sustainable learning.
To ensure seamless rollout of the digital literacy initiative, the two agencies agreed to establish a joint inter-agency committee that will develop strategic implementation plans. The ultimate goal, they affirmed, is to empower young Nigerians with the digital tools needed to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven global economy.
