Nigeria ranked highly in ITU report on digital transformation readiness

A new report from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has ranked Nigeria at an impressive 71 percent in comparative legal, policy, and governance frameworks towards achieving a G5 – advanced state of readiness for digital transformation, with Germany, Finland, and Singapore leading the global chart.

The report, conducted by the ITU and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), was unveiled by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, in Abuja on Monday.

Nigeria was ranked among Africa’s top seven in the BEMECS 5G Readiness Index, reflecting the country’s preparedness to deploy and adopt mass-market 5G networks.

Titled “Collaborative Regulation: Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Transformation,” the report was presented at the Digital Economy Complex in Mbora, Abuja by ITU’s Kagwira Nkonge. It offers a case study for collaborative regulation review, aiming to assess and support Nigeria’s transition towards collaborative digital governance, evidence-based policymaking, and agile regulation in the digital economy.

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Presented to key industry stakeholders, including service providers, government agencies, representatives of multilateral institutions, West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), and Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU), the report complements existing cross-country benchmarks by assessing the features of countries’ policy and regulatory environments.

These features are evaluated based on the Generations of Regulation frameworks, which track telecom regulatory maturity towards digital transformation readiness, with Nigeria currently standing at G4.

The Advanced State of Readiness is benchmarked against four critical levels of accomplishment: national collaborative governance, policy design principles, digital development toolbox, and digital economic policy agenda.

Nigeria scored 91 percent in regulatory capacity, 82 percent in market rules, 81 percent in collaborative governance, 76 percent in legal instruments for ICT/Telecom markets, and 69 percent in national digital agenda policy, among other benchmarks.

Dr. Tijani commended the ITU and partner agencies for the report, expressing the Federal Government’s commitment to using it as a navigational aid towards achieving robust digital economy regulatory objectives and policies.

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“That is what we will continue to do as a government, ensuring that we can put ourselves in a place to have cutting-edge modern regulations in place to ensure that business is done properly in our sector and to ensure that, where possible, increase the local content of the sector as well,” he said.

Dr. Tijani highlighted that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has adapted over the years to its evolving role and mandate. “Fifteen, twenty years ago, NCC was just regulating the telecommunications sector. Today, NCC regulates the foundation for which any economy would be prosperous,” he explained.

Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, who hosted the presentation, welcomed the indicators promoting effective regulation, attraction of greater investment, and development of innovative models for broader digital inclusion.

He emphasized that collaborative regulation would support Nigeria’s transition towards effective digital governance, evidence-based policymaking, and agile regulation in the nation’s digital economy.