The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is intensifying efforts to create a one-stop-shop portal for all government services, a key goal under the current administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda. This was highlighted when the NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, hosted a delegation from the Ukrainian Embassy led by Ambassador Ivan Kholostenko to discuss potential areas of collaboration.
The initiative directly aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to digitize 75% of government services by 2027, aiming to enhance productivity, transparency, and trust in government processes.
DG Inuwa acknowledged past efforts to establish a centralized e-government portal, such as the OneGove.net, noting that renewed commitment and extensive research have reignited this drive. He disclosed that NITDA is actively studying how other nations, including the UK and Kenya, have implemented unified digital government service platforms.
“We have been doing research on how UK, Kenya and other countries have achieved this, so I believe we can learn from you as well to see how we can build our own,” Inuwa said.
He stressed that while such models aren’t entirely transferable, Nigeria can learn from international experiences to develop a suitable framework. The DG further proposed the introduction of legal frameworks to back the initiative, noting that success requires identifying models—such as providing services through an Application Programming Interface (API) or exclusively through designated, law-backed portals—and enacting the necessary legislation.
Inuwa also disclosed that NITDA is engaging with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to ensure alignment with global digital governance standards, a critical step toward a smart, seamless, and citizen-friendly government service experience.
Ambassador Kholostenko introduced Ukraine’s successful digital platform, the Diia application. He described Diia as an ecosystem that encompasses all state registers and databases, allowing citizens to access all state and government services in one place.
The Ambassador expressed the intention of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation to expand the reach of this initiative and provide full support to other countries seeking to create a similar digital system.
“We are interested to expand and help other countries to make a digital state, reduce bureaucracy, reduce time for getting state services and of course, to reduce corruption risks, because human-to-human interaction is minimal,” Kholostenko stated, underscoring the benefits of digital government in enhancing efficiency and fighting corruption.