The European Union has announced its collaboration with Nigeria to develop an electronic governance system and expand digital infrastructure.
The head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca,
disclosed while addressing journalists on Thursday during Eurocham’s 25th annual stakeholders conference in Lagos.
De Luca stated that the EU aims to enhance Nigeria’s digital ecosystem through collaboration with the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, headed by Bosun Tijani.
He highlighted that a central part of the partnership involves the installation of 90,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables across the country, which will provide the groundwork for a sustainable e-governance system.
“We are working closely now with Bosun Tijani. We want to play a big role in supporting minister Bosun Tijani of digital economy and communications with regard to three aspects.
“First is the deployment of the 90,000 kilometer of fibre optic cables throughout the country. We have a number of development projects to facilitate the sustainability of the e-governance system in the country.
“When it comes to involvement with the private sector, what does that mean? It means that investment will not be done by the government. The government in that case is establishing a specialised purpose vehicles (SPV) which will be 50:50 or 51:49 but the money must come from the private sector.
“We’re looking at what we can do to spur the private sector to jump into the SPV. That could be a blend of grant for the function of the SPV and a loan for the actual work that needs to be done.”
De Luca mentioned that the EU is also partnering with Nigeria to develop e-governance protocols essential for seamless public administration.
This effort includes the procurement of software and hardware infrastructure that will enable government institutions to function efficiently and digitally connect with one another.
“When it comes to e-governance, we are talking about establishing the protocols that are necessary for the public administration to operate and to procure the infrastructure (the software and hardware) to a point that will allow for that interconnectivity. In that respect, we need to talk to the private sector to prepare the best strategies to apply,” he said.
The head of cooperation added that the EU is exploring opportunities to scale up digital capacity in Nigeria through international certification programs and other investment mechanisms.
He also encouraged EU member states to recognize the expertise within their communities and promptly apply it to support Nigeria’s development initiatives.
De Luca emphasized that Nigeria requires capital investment beyond grants, calling on both local and international investors to get involved in the country’s infrastructure development.
“Nigeria needs a lot of capital and it cannot just be grants. We need people to invest. We need to create a culture of investment, sustainability in the country and also, relationship with the private sector is fundamental,” he stated.
“We are still in the structure phase of our project and there’s still more to come in the coming weeks.”
