The Federal Government has declared that the era of economic volatility and uncertainty that once characterized Nigeria’s financial landscape has come to an end.
This is also as it unveils fresh plans to deploy 4,000 telecom towers to connect 20 million unserved citizens and deepen digital inclusion across the country.
Vice President Kashim Shettima stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open the 2025 Digital Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition (DNICE), organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Shettima said the administration’s bold reforms were stabilising the economy, restoring investor confidence, and attracting global commendation, citing the recent upgrades of Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating by Fitch to B with a stable outlookand by Moody’s to B3 with a stable outlook as proof of renewed global trust in the nation’s economic direction.
According to him, global economic shocks, shifting alliances, and the rapid displacement of traditional jobs by emerging technologies have compelled the administration to adopt innovative solutions suited for the modern economy.
He said the ongoing digital revolution presents Nigeria with a second chance to achieve relevance, inclusion, and prosperity after being left behind in previous industrial revolutions.
Shettima noted that the Tinubu administration’s digital transformation drive is anchored on three pillars: people, infrastructure, and policy, and has begun to yield tangible outcomes through initiatives such as the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program, nationwide broadband expansion, and the proposed National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill.
The Vice President added that the government is determined to ensure that macroeconomic gains translate into real improvements in the lives of citizens, from small businesses to multinational corporations. He stressed that the administration is committed to solving today’s challenges with forward-looking policies, not “20th-century solutions to 21st-century problems.”
He said: “What this administration has achieved is to end the regimes of volatility and unpredictability that once defined our economy.
“The phase before us now is to ensure that these macroeconomic gains trickle down to the people, from neighbourhood kiosks to multinational boardrooms.
“We cannot keep lamenting our absence as a people in the previous industrial revolutions.
“This digital web offers us a redemptive opportunity, an opportunity to define on our own terms the next chapter of global progress.
“Digital innovation offers us a highway to reach our destination. It is not only a youth-led sector; it is the very future of our shared humanity.
“This is a sustainable and inclusive answer to our quest for relevance, opportunity, and transformation.”
Delivering a keynote address, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said the plan to install 4,000 new telecommunication towers would connect 20 million Nigerians currently without access to mobile services.
He also revealed that Nigeria is spearheading a World Bank-backed project to deploy 90,000 kilometres of open-access fibre across the country, the largest in any developing nation and the biggest digital infrastructure project in the World Bank’s global portfolio.
Tijani noted that the ICT sector currently contributes between 16 and 18 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP and is projected to soon surpass oil and gas, stressing that Digital Nigeria is not merely an annual conference but a national call to rethink how technology can drive inclusive growth and competitiveness.
“Digital Nigeria for me is more than just a conference. It is a gathering that reminds us of what digital truly means for our past, present, and future as a nation. This is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and strategise together on how to deliver our shared vision of prosperity and inclusion powered through technology and innovation.”
“Historically, Nigeria’s digital story is one of courageous decisions. The liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in 1999 opened a new era of growth, moving Nigeria’s GDP growth average from about 3 percent to over 5 percent.
“Before then, only a few families had access to telephone lines. Today, connectivity is almost universal,” the minister stated.
Earlier, Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, said this year’s conference, themed “Innovation for a Sustainable Digital Future: Accelerating Growth and Inclusion,” aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda.
Abdullahi said over 4,800 participants from 12 countries and 25 Nigerian states are attending the event, aimed at fostering collaboration and idea exchange across the tech ecosystem.
He added that Nigeria’s youthful population could become either its greatest strength or biggest challenge, depending on how effectively it is harnessed.
According to him, “We are a nation of over 220 million people and the average age is 18 years. If we harness the energy, creativity, and talent of our youth, we can power not just Nigeria but the entire Africa into a new era of prosperity. But if we fail to provide a platform for them to create value, we are squandering our most precious asset as a nation.”
