Nigeria has solidified its position as a global leader in digital innovation, emerging as the overall winner in the Digital Governance category at the 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit held in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
The prestigious award and certificate were formally presented to the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, by the OGP delegation in Abuja.
Nigeria’s recognition at the summit was twofold: Global Winner (Digital Governance) for excellence in deploying digital tools to enhance transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement and Regional Award for advancing Open Digital Governance across Africa and the Middle East.
These milestones were driven by NITDA’s strategic policies and high-impact collaborations with civil society partners, including Dataphyte, to showcase inclusive approaches to governance.
Receiving the delegation, Inuwa emphasized that the award is a “national honor” rather than an institutional one, reflecting the collective efforts of the government, private sector, and civil society.
“This recognition comes with heightened responsibility,” Inuwa stated. “If we fail to execute the commitments we have made, it affects our image both locally and internationally. This is not something NITDA can do in isolation.”
He directly linked this success to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that digital transformation and efficient public service delivery are central to the administration’s priorities for economic diversification and building citizen trust.
To ensure these global commitments translate into local impact, NITDA has initiated:
- Internal Reviews: Assessing current OGP commitments to ensure alignment with global standards.
- Joint Work Streams: Proposing collaborative task forces with OGP stakeholders to maintain oversight and momentum.
- Stakeholder Engagement: A call to action for civil society and technical partners to provide the expertise needed to “hand-hold” the implementation process.
Inuwa also welcomed plans to brief the President on the achievement, noting that such wins reinforce morale and prove that Nigeria’s digital reforms are resonating on the world stage.
Earlier, Mr. Olusoji Apampa, who led the OGP delegation, attributed the win to the robust partnership between the government and civil society. He expressed optimism that these awards would serve as a catalyst to accelerate practical reforms that strengthen Nigeria’s digital landscape.