Nigeria’s Digital Inclusion Push Gains Ground

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani on Friday, June 6, 2026, hosted 185 students who participated in the 2026 National Girls in Information and Communication Technology Competition at a celebratory dinner held at the State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja, as the government stepped up its drive to close the digital gender divide.

The competition, which brought together secondary school girls from across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, was held as part of the global Girls in ICT Day initiative supported by the International Telecommunication Union. Tijani praised the students for their talent, creativity, and determination, saying they represented the vanguard of Nigeria’s future technology workforce.

The minister said the federal government’s commitment to digital inclusion went beyond symbolic events, pointing to the 3 Million Technical Talent programme, the National Digital Economy Research Clusters Initiative, and expanded broadband rollout as concrete steps to build a skills pipeline that could power Nigeria’s participation in the global digital economy. The Nigerian Communications Commission also lauded the ministerial initiative, hosting 185 students on an industry excursion tour as part of the week’s activities.

ABU Students Win Three Grand Prizes in Huawei China Contest

Meanwhile, students from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria made Nigeria proud at the global Huawei ICT Competition in China, winning three grand prizes in the international contest that draws university teams from across the world. The victory was celebrated as a sign of growing excellence in technology education at Nigerian universities, particularly in the northwest of the country.

Furthermore, the NSITF and the International Social Security Association sealed a stronger social security cooperation agreement at the Global Labour Summit in Geneva, with officials saying the partnership would help Nigeria improve its worker protection frameworks and align them more closely with international standards. In addition, the NCC said it was working with fintech companies and telecom operators to address the growing problem of failed digital transactions, identity theft, and social engineering scams that are trapping millions of ordinary Nigerians in disputes between banks, fintech platforms, and switching companies.

However, analysts noted that Nigeria’s digital inclusion gains remain unevenly distributed, with rural communities, women, and older Nigerians still significantly underserved by existing infrastructure and digital literacy programmes. Still, the government’s sustained focus on expanding connectivity and building technical skills is seen as a foundation for longer-term inclusion. Notably, Nigeria’s AI adoption rate stood at just 10.1 per cent in Q1 2026, below the global average of 17.8 per cent, underscoring how much ground remains to be covered. Consequently, events like the Girls in ICT competition are important both for the skills they build and for the signal they send about who belongs in Nigeria’s technology future.

Burna Boy Celebrates Grandfather at 90

In lighter business and culture news, Grammy award-winning musician Burna Boy paid an emotional public tribute to his grandfather Benson Idonije on his 90th birthday. Idonije, a veteran Nigerian music critic, broadcaster, and manager who played a pivotal role in the career of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, was celebrated across social media as a living institution of Nigerian music history. As a result, the story highlighted the deep intergenerational roots of Nigeria’s globally celebrated music culture, which continues to generate significant economic and cultural value far beyond the country’s borders.