The Federal Government has announced plans to deploy emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Blockchain, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to enhance governance and service delivery.

This was disclosed by the Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr. Dasuki Arabi, during the 2025 ITGOV Conference held in Lagos. The event was organized by Tranter IT in collaboration with global IT solutions leader ManageEngine.

Represented by the BPSR Director of Strategy, Innovation, and Research, Mr. Sulola Johnson, Dr. Arabi said the Bureau is currently working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to integrate Distributed Ledger Technologies into the operations of MDAs.

“The aim is simple but powerful: simplify routine tasks, secure sensitive data, and optimize resource allocation for more effective service delivery,” he said.

Highlighting past investments in digital solutions, Dr. Arabi noted that the government has implemented several key automation platforms over the past decade, including:

The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS)

The Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS)

The Treasury Single Account (TSA)

The Bank Verification Number (BVN) integration

According to him, these platforms have collectively saved the government billions of naira in leakages and have bolstered transparency and accountability across public institutions.

“Yet, as global trends shift towards more integrated and intelligent automation, we must now deepen our focus,” he said.

Dr. Arabi added, has been instrumental in fostering digital collaboration across agencies. Notably, it has supported the integration of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database as a unified identity verification platform and backed the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) in JAMB’s UTME registration process.

Recognizing that technology alone cannot drive transformation, Dr. Arabi stressed the need to invest in human capital. To this end, the Bureau plans to train 500,000 public servants in digital literacy and emerging technologies to ensure the long-term sustainability of these efforts.

Delivering the keynote address at the conference, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, represented by his Technical Assistant, Dr. Femi Adeluyi, said that digital transformation is no longer optional for Nigeria.

Drawing from global success stories in Estonia, South Korea, and the UAE, he advocated for inclusive, data-driven governance supported by robust digital infrastructure, cloud adoption, analytics, and cybersecurity.

He also highlighted NITDA’s ongoing implementation of Digital Transformation Plans (DTPs) across MDAs, aligned with the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0 (SRAP 2023–2027), aimed at modernizing governance in Nigeria.

Speaking earlier, Executive Director of the Tranter Group, Melanie Ayoola, explained that the conference was convened to explore ways in which intelligent IT management can improve government performance and outcomes. She affirmed Tranter’s and ManageEngine’s commitment to supporting a digitally robust public sector in Nigeria.

Country Manager for ManageEngine Nigeria and Head of West Africa Operations, Srinivasan Rajasekar, echoed similar sentiments. He emphasized that digital transformation enhances transparency, operational efficiency, and citizen satisfaction and pledged the companies’ support for Nigeria’s digital evolution.

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TECHDIGEST – The Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has inaugurated a Presidential Technical Committee review Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS), Government Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (GIFMIS) and the Single Treasury Account (TSA), and appointed National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to serve as Secretary.

Prof. Pantami disclosed that the approval for the inauguration was given by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR.

The members of the Technical Working Committee which will be supervised by the Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy include; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr. Aghughu Adolphus, the Chairman, Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr. Dasuki Arabi, Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Muhammad Abubakar, and Chairman, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), Ekpo Nta Esq.

According to Prof. Pantami, the technical committee has been mandated by Mr. President to ensure the review of the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of these systems while advising the President on the best methods to improve them.

READ ALSO: Pantami Confirms Irregularities on IPPIS, Vows Review

While giving a brief historical overview of the IPPIS, GIFMIS and the TSA which were deployed in 2006, 2012 and 2015 respectively, Pantami hinted that the provisions of the NITDA Act 2007 were not observed and adhered to.

He averred that, “at the time they were deployed, the provisions of NITDA, Act 2007, section A, of setting the standardisation of ICT deployment in Federal Public Institutions were not followed. Because of this, these three systems were not subjected to government certification and IT project clearance as required by law and many other government policies”.

Offering credit to the systems for the achievements made thus far in terms of revenue generation, with IPPIS saving the government 120 billion naira and TSA saving over 10 trillion naira since their deployments, he however noted that there is a need for improvement.

“These figures show us that the government has recorded some major gains with their deployment but there is need to improve on them. Particularly with the recent allegations coming up that these systems are being exploited by evil people where they siphon money”, he stated.

Giving assurances of the government’s commitment to ensure the systems are of high quality, Pantami noted that errors have been detected in the processes of IPPIS when subjected to reviews by NITDA.

He further disclosed that GIFMIS and the TSA will be subjected to critical reviews as well to erode all forms of leakages, errors and challenges in their processes.

While urging the institutions managing the three systems to give maximum support and cooperation to the committee, the Honorable Minister clearly mentioned that any institution who does otherwise would face sanctions by Mr. President.

“In the approval and the directives by Mr. President, it is clearly mentioned that all government institutions that manage these three systems; IPPIS, GIFMIS, and TSA, must give unlimited access to the committee to ensure that they come up with a very strong recommendation to Mr. President for approval”, he said.

Prof. Pantami admonished the Committee to carry out its assignments judiciously by testing the processes and providing recommendations or criticism where necessary.

“We must identify where the challenges are, if any, and see how these systems can be enhanced technically so that we would be able to consolidate the gains we have achieved so far and also improve on them to achieve many more achievements and successes”.

Other dignitaries at the inauguration were the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Marcus Olaniyi, the Board Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Adeolu Akande, Board Chairman of the Nigerian Postal Service, Barrister Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau, Dr. Vincent Olatunji among many others.

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TECHDIGEST – Dr Dasuki Arabi, the Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), has said the Federal Government is set to implement a road map for blockchain technology in the country.

Arabi said this at a two-day workshop organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with BPSR in Abuja on Thursday.

The theme of the workshop is “Distributed Ledger Technologies (Blockchain) Ecosystem, Decentralisation and Adoption Methods as Growth Plan for the Telecom Sector- Development of Bold Blockchain Strategy for Nigeria”.

READ ALSO: NCC To Consumers: Protect Telecom Infrastructure

According to Arabi, “a blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.’’ The D G said blockchain was real and had come to stay, adding that the government needed to innovate the technology.

He said the public service was underperforming due to lack of efficiency in operations, adding that it was the biggest beneficiary of blockchain. He said there was a National Government e-masterplan that was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which had set strategies for digitisation from paper to paperless governance by the year 2030.

Arabi said from year 2023, assessments would be done electronically for everybody that is on Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS) and working for the government of Nigeria.

“There is a National Government e-Masterplan approved by FEC, which has set the strategy for digitisation for this massive movement of paper government and public service to paperless by the year 2030.

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TECHDIGEST – The Federal Government has created 750, 000 jobs for youths to close the unemployment gap in the country.

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Mr Dasuki Arabi made this known at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum, on Sunday in Abuja.

Arabi, who is also the Chairman, Technical Working Committee on Youth Employment, said the intervention followed an interface with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.

“We did some research works with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group to look at unemployment in the country and we came out with the policy.

“The summit came up with the idea of the 750,000 jobs that have been adopted by the Federal Government for the youths and the unemployed.”

Arabi said the establishment of Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs was part of government’s effort to provide succour for the unemployed and down trodden before they finally got engaged.

“We are working with the Central Bank of Nigeria and SMEDAN to provide alot of support for the unemployed.

“It is also the reason why the government is introducing entreprenurship at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

“The idea is for youth to be engaged while in school before the time for employment comes.

“As you are working or schooling you are learning a skill, when you come out you don’t have to rely on government for employment.”

He said alot of work was being done to support small and medium enterprises to make it easier for citizens to access the support and assistance given to them.

“The registration of business for certain groups is almost free and is supported by CAC and related agencies.

“These are some of the things that we have done and these are some of the things government is doing to fight unemployment.

“And the bottom of all this is, government is doing quite alot to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, so they can provide additional space of employment,” Arabi said.

On data generation for proper planning, the DG said the private sector had been empowered, registered and given license to generate data for a fee.

“We can see that with the privitisation of PHCN, DISCOS have been created, we have vendors selling units for charging meters.

“A lot of things were done for the private sector to thrive, expand and provide support to Federal Government for growth in the economy,” he added.

Arabi said the aim was for the private sector to provide quite a number of spaces for jobs.(NAN)

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TECHDIGEST – The Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) says plans are underway to train 500,000 public servants on digitisation and Information Technology (IT) to improve service delivery.

Mr Dasuki Arabi, the Director-General of the bureau disclosed this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja on Sunday.

Arabi said that the bureau was working with the U.S. government and other key private sector agencies to ensure the training of public servants on digitisation and use of IT among others.

He said that the Federal Government had approved an e-government master plan agenda for digitisation of the processes and provision of the hardwares connectivity that civil servants needed to work with.

” If that is done, the process and the speed of delivering service are going to be faster, cheaper and easier.

“Government has issued a circular directing digitisation of all processes.

“We are working with the private sector to build the capacity of the public servants to understand the language.

“For instance, accountants used to raise vouchers and cheques to pay contractors and salaries, now they are doing that electronically.

“The vouchers and the papers that we used to have in files have now been transferred into data system.

“So they need to understand the digitised language, eat the language and speak the language to enable them properly sit and manage the transformation to a digital economy.’’

He said that the aspiration of the reforms was for the Nigerian public service to be among the first 20 in the world by the year 2025.

He said that by the year 2030, the Nigerian public service should be paperless and fully digitised. (NAN)

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TECHDIGEST – The Director General of Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Mr. Dasuki Arabi, has said that digital transformation is one of the core reforms initiatives which the government is employing to change the Civil Service.

The DG made the statement at the final validation of the Compendium on Public Service Reforms 2018-2020 held in Abuja on recently.

Speaking at the validation exercise, Arabi said the compendium presents a concise overview of the various initiatives, achievements and key challenges of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

He said the document showcases the performances of the various ministries, agencies and parastatals and provides hints on areas where future reforms should be directed.

According to the BPSR boss, the compendium, which is a buildup on previous reforms, also recommends blueprints for upgrading the public service

“The compendium is not only going to change the civil service, it is going to change the public service because we have identified the reform initiatives, the challenges and the success stories.

“If you look at the Nigerian Civil Service in the last 20 years, you will notice that there has been a great improvement. We are not where we want to be yet but we are hoping that with the reforms we are putting in place, in the next four to three years, the Nigerian Public Service will be among the 20 best in the world.

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TECHDIGEST – For the second consecutive year, the Nigerian Defence College has asked my boss; Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami the minister of Communications and Digital Economy to serve in the capacity of its guest lecturer at the graduation ceremony and training lecture of courses 28 and 29 respectively. He obliged them both times.

This year, the wall watchers invited him to dissect the topic; ‘National Security in Nigeria: Emerging Technologies and Prospects for Enhanced Military Operations’.

The world over, the Military still retains the gold standard for ethics and discipline and will expectedly, only give honour to who is deserving of it. More often than not, once!

There is a very valid and compelling reason for a civilian to make the honoured list, not once but twice, at that level. That reason forms the topic of this discourse pulled right from the Motto of the Defence College itself; Intellect, Courage and Patriotism.

As I watched my boss, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), do justice to the topic of the day, precisely on the 16th of March 2021, I thought it was ironic how the words aptly described him to the tee.

The Digital Economy sector in Nigeria, is not only a reality today, but has become the tool of change, and the platform for the paradigm shift which has breathed new life in the nation’s economy. Nigeria as it is today, is driven by the well thought out and strategically implemented principles of a digital economy.

There is no sector in Nigeria today that is excluded from the magic of digitalization no matter how subtle. At the very least, official virtual engagements have become a norm from the Federal Executive Council, the highest decision making body in the country, down to interpersonal interactions, ensuring that the Nigerian nation thrives economically and politically where it may have shut down in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic.

With a growth rate of 12.90% in 2020, and a further 14.70% in the fourth quarter, ICT emerged the most performing sector in the economy, according to the National Bureau of Statistics Report for the year 2020 and so far in 2021.

The sector also outranked all the other top six performers combined, in its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and remains the only sector to have grown at a double digit rate. All other six top sectors, including agriculture, health, public administration, construction and real estate combined, recorded a 14.21% growth.

Factually speaking, Dr Pantami has surpassed the target he set for his sector within a specified time frame and has done more than most, to deservedly stand where he stands today. But I have deliberately singled out these two eternal foundational institutions because; they reflect clearly the virtues of intellect, courage and patriotism.

It takes an intellectually sound mind, an unusually courageous character and an unapologetic sense of patriotism (all of which my Boss has demonstrated in no small measure) to discharge ones duties with military precision and unwavering resilience in our peculiar climes.

On a recent official visit to the Minister, the Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Mallam Dasuki Arabi, described him as the hero of reforms.

Pantami does not engage in superficial, white elephant projects, he establishes concrete, reformative foundations that are deeply rooted in the present while setting the agenda for the future.

His actions are intentional and guided; nothing is accidental or left to chance. Like clockwork, the agenda for the future is sustained deploying constitutional powers. Ideas are birthed, honed and fine-tuned into policies; sustainable, impactful policies.

In Nigeria today, the digital economy sector is easily the most performing sector, credited with ensuring that the country exited the recession even ahead of global super economies and way ahead of the projected timeline by experts. These unprecedented feats, made possible by the leadership, intellect, courage and patriotism brought to firmly bear in the sector, have formed the bedrock of his leadership style in the last two years.

To attempt a detailed enumeration of Pantami’s achievements in his two years in office will require some sort of tome. I shall therefore, broadly categorise them as Policies and Projects. Within two years in office where he inherited a single policy sponsored by the South Korean government, the proactive, young intellectual has personally written, supervised and directed sixteen national policies – twelve of them already in full effect and four awaiting approval from the Federal Executive Council, as at the time of this publication. A critical analysis of these policies reveals an almost perfectly paired sustainable solution to every single existing economic challenge.

No Policy is less important than the other, but it is understandable to lay emphasis on the Nigerian Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020 – 2030 and of course, the National Policy on NIN/SIM registration as the guiding principles of Pantami’s success story.

The eight pillars of NDEPS are all encompassing and of course, the importance of Broadband to a digital economy should not be understated. Global Industry experts have pegged a 1.6 – 1.8% increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any economy to a 10% increase in Broadband penetration.

The intellectual strategist reversed the fortunes of a hitherto comatose resource, catapulting it from a 33.3%, attained over a nineteen year period, to a staggering 10% penetration rate within a year thus, earning his pride of place in the economic history of Nigeria.

In spite of the expected furore generated by the Revised National Policy on NIN/SIM Registration, it undoubtedly achieved the desired effect with the relevant authorities as attested to, earlier on in this discourse. The NIMC Act of 2007, had existed for fourteen years prior to Dr Pantami taking charge as the Commission’s supervisor. Resuscitating and implementing it is one of the most profound fulfillments of the commitment to the security of citizens by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. For one, it lays a solid foundation for the much needed national database.

Within the same time frame, one thousand, six hundred and sixty seven (1,667) digital centres and projects have been established nationwide with almost three hundred thousand (300,000) direct beneficiaries of various capacity building programmes.

His well-known advocacy for proven skills over mere paper qualifications is justifiable from any standpoint and he is bridging the unemployment and unemployability gap.

The first of its kind in Africa, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics has been established in Nigeria and as intended, it has become a budding field of reality for the dreams of young indigenous minds.

The centre has become a fertile ground for digital innovation, especially in the area of Artificial Intelligence. A few months later, he performed the ground breaking ceremony for the establishment of the National Digital Innovation and Entreprenuership Centre. Surely, the magnitude of this impact cannot be lost on anyone.

More than anything else, Dr Pantami has proven beyond any reasonable or unreasonable doubt that what it takes to effect change is the will to uphold the law, the intellect to chart a course, the integrity to be just, enough patriotism to be disciplined and selfless and the courage to stay the course against all odds.

These are not easy virtues and are not for the faint hearted. I have witnessed my boss proffer solutions to crippling challenges every day for an intense two years, I have witnessed first – hand, the true meaning of loyalty, I have understood like never before, that impossibility is nothing.

Dr Pantami has characteristically reinvented the Ministry and the sector he oversees by sheer dint of mind blowing determination and hardwork .

Dr Pantami has, more than any other Nigerian leader, explored, leveraged and deployed the tools of technology to change the narrative in our nation’s history.

The offices of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy have become the hallowed grounds where impactful, pro-Nigeria partnerships are formed, where Nigeria is placed on the global map through the right policy formulation and direction.

The Honourable Minister plays host to global tech giants and professionals from all walks of life who recognize the vision that drives Dr Pantami, his quest for a relevant future for Nigeria and the potential he believes can work. Those who seek to key into the Pantami vision for a digital Nigeria.

He has within two years, harmonized the industry and entrenched professionalism to a point where global attention is definitely on the nation’s digital economy.

My Boss, my teacher, as you achieve a two year milestone with a ten year score card, I pray that history be kind to you, may your legacies bring hope to generations yet unborn and may your name be written in gold in Nigeria’s history.

Uwa Suleiman is the spokesperson to Dr. Isa Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy (Nigeria).

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