The Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the appointment of Princess Oforitsenere Emiko as the Interim Chairman of the Governing Board of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI).
The strategic appointment underscores the Commission’s deliberate plan to reposition the institute for the next era of Nigeria’s communications sector and rapidly evolving digital economy.
Princess Emiko will be joined on the interim board by two newly appointed members: Engr. Abraham Oshadami, NCC’s Executive Commissioner for Technical Services, and Ms. Rimini Makama, Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management.
This interim leadership team will work in close alignment with DBI’s President/CEO, Mr. David Daser, and the remaining board members whose tenures are unexpired, to drive the institute’s comprehensive transformation.
Established by the NCC in May 2004, DBI was created as a specialized center for high-level training in telecommunications and information technology.
In the two decades since its inception, the landscape has radically shifted from basic telecommunications into a broad, fast-moving digital economy. In this new era, technology advances at a pace that demands continuous specialized training, while robust communications infrastructure has increasingly become a critical matter of national sovereignty and regulatory oversight. Securing and advancing this space is now treated as a top national and economic priority.
A core driver of the DBI transformation is Nigeria’s unique demographic advantage. With 70 percent of the nation’s population under the age of 30, the revamped institute is strategically positioned to empower young people by equipping them with cutting-edge, advanced technical skills, close the critical capability gap that currently slows down the pace of technology adoption across the communications sector and fuel nationwide economic growth by building a future-ready, tech-savvy workforce.
To achieve its mandate, the repositioned Institute will heavily concentrate its resources and strategy across five strategic pillars: they are education and training, research and development, innovation, economic impact and growth and emerging policy and regulation
Reflecting a collaborative approach to national development, this new strategy was shaped through extensive engagements beyond the NCC and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
The transformative roadmap incorporates vital inputs and consultations from the Federal Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).