The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has called on Jigawa State and Galaxy Information Technology and Telecommunications (Galaxy ITT) to fundamentally overhaul their approach to digital transformation and economic planning.
Speaking at the Galaxy ITT Repositioning Retreat in Abuja on Thursday, Inuwa warned that continued reliance on federal allocations threatens the region’s economic future, urging state leaders to harness local land and youthful demographics to build a sustainable, tech-driven economy.
During the retreat, Inuwa highlighted that early state ICT initiatives pioneered by former Governor Ibrahim Saminu Turaki lost momentum due to a lack of continuity across subsequent administrations, causing Jigawa to lose its initial advantage. The NITDA boss also pointed to a lack of clear development roadmaps and an excessive focus on politics as major structural bottlenecks stalling progress across Northern Nigeria. To drive transformation, Jigawa State leadership was advised to set clear, measurable two-to-three-year targets supported by practical execution strategies rather than short-term political goals.
To reclaim its position as a digital leader, the agency outlined three mandatory pillars for the state’s technology ecosystem:
Drawing parallels with NITDA’s own evolution, Inuwa noted that technology must be treated as a horizontal enabler across all economic sectors rather than a standalone industry.
Former Governor Ibrahim Saminu Turaki—who originally established Galaxy ITT, the entity that later laid the groundwork for Galaxy Backbone—also attended the retreat and commended NITDA’s ongoing efforts to advance Nigeria’s national digital agenda.
The event concluded with a joint commitment between stakeholders to strengthen institutional collaboration, maintain policy continuity, and reposition Galaxy ITT as a key driver for Jigawa’s digital economy.