Abuja, Nov. 5, 2025 – The Federal Government has earmarked N12 billion to support new research projects on digital economy.
Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at the 18th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance.
The event, with the theme ‘Shaping the Future of Digital Governance Through Cooperation, Innovation and Inclusion,’ was organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Tijani said Nigeria’s participation at the ICEGOV 2024 demonstrated the country’s need to deepen research in the digital economy, a track record that had earned it the trust and confidence of partners to host the 2025 edition.
“The Nigerian government is not just doing this as a show because immediately after ICEGOV last year, we funded over 55 research projects,” Tijani said.
“At the minute, we are putting together about N12 billion to fund further research projects that are focused on the digital economy.
“We are setting up three research clusters of six universities, each one focused on artificial intelligence, another focus on the biggest issue in our nation today, which is connectivity, where we are investing significantly.
“Thirdly, because of our population, we are also funding another research cluster that is focused on digital skills and literacy.”
Tijani said the new N12 billion investments in digital economy aligned with the government’s broader vision to harness innovation and academic research for national growth.
He said the proposed investment was also to position Nigeria as a regional hub for digital innovation and talent development.
Kashifu Abdullahi, The NITDA Director-General, said the Nigeria’s hosting and participation in the event aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda which prioritised innovation and digital inclusion, explained that technology continued to enhance service delivery and strengthen citizen engagement.
“All these are deeply rooted in our Renewed Hope Agenda because even at our ministry, at the heart of everything we do is co-creation and co-designing.
“In a digital world, it’s not something you can do in isolation, and it’s not something you can learn from history or previous generations.”
“It’s something we need to co-create; it’s something we need to collaborate to work together to see how we can shape the future, and innovation also doesn’t happen in isolation, and it is not evenly distributed,” he said.
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