Nigeria’s growing ambition to digitise public sector operations is facing a critical structural gap, with experts warning that the absence of a coordinated national framework could undermine the country’s broader transformation goals.
This concern came to the fore at the National GovTech Policy Roundtable 2026 held in Abuja, where industry and government stakeholders converged to examine pathways for building a more responsive, technology-driven public sector.
‘DeRemi Atanda, managing director of Remita Payment Services Limited, cautioned during a private sector panel session that Nigeria’s digital journey remains constrained by fragmentation and lack of institutional alignment.
According to him, the country is yet to establish a central authority or framework capable of harmonising how technology is deployed across government institutions.
“There remain far too many silos. The question we must ask is this: who today serves as the custodian of a unified architecture for redefining how technology serves both government and citizens? Where, indeed, is the national architecture?,” Atanda said.
His remarks reflect a broader concern that, despite increasing conversations around digital transformation and ongoing policy efforts, Nigeria still lacks a cohesive blueprint that aligns agencies, policies, and infrastructure toward a common objective.
Atanda noted that without such coordination, efforts to scale digital services across government may continue to deliver uneven outcomes, limiting their overall impact on service delivery and citizen engagement.
He further argued that the country does not yet have an aggregated view of how technology can be effectively deployed to drive large-scale transformation, a gap that continues to slow progress.
While acknowledging the challenges, Atanda expressed cautious optimism, pointing to the growing involvement of lawmakers as a positive signal that reforms may begin to take clearer shape.
He said: “It is not all doom and gloom.We are aware of many of the challenges, and that is precisely why I am encouraged that this conversation is taking place on the platform of the legislature. Without a comprehensive understanding of the broader landscape, it becomes exceedingly difficult to craft effective and forward-looking legislation.”
Beyond structural alignment, Atanda also drew attention to public sector procurement practices, describing them as a critical but often overlooked lever in Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
He called for a more strategic and coordinated approach to technology procurement, arguing that disjointed acquisition processes across government agencies have contributed to the persistence of isolated systems.
“There ought to be a more aggregated approach to technology procurement, one that draws directly from the source.The country possesses both the human capital and the institutional capacity required at its core,” he said.
Atanda stressed the need for a stronger “Nigeria-first” mindset in procurement decisions, urging government institutions to fully leverage existing frameworks such as executive orders and the Nigerian Content Act to drive local innovation and capacity development.
“The relevant executive orders already exist, as does the Nigerian Content Act.The question now is: when will we fully integrate these into how the government reimagines service delivery, engagement, and execution?,”he added.
From the legislative perspective, Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and chief convener of the roundtable, reinforced the need to shift the focus of digital transformation away from infrastructure and toward citizen outcomes.
He argued that the success of a digital-first approach should not be measured by the number of platforms deployed or policies introduced, but by the real-life experiences of Nigerians interacting with government services.
“The theme of this roundtable—digital first governance, is a strategic posture,” Kalu said. “It demands that we stop treating technology as an afterthought.”
According to him, the true test of digital governance lies in whether citizens experience improved access, responsiveness, and trust in government institutions.
“The measure of digital first governance will not be found in the servers we procure or the applications that we launch,” he said. “It will be found in the experience of the Nigerian citizen, whether the government is responsive, accessible, trustworthy, and just.”
The roundtable forms part of ongoing national conversations around strengthening digital governance, particularly as policymakers consider frameworks aimed at accelerating e-government adoption.
