Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC), one of the three arms of government that conduct the affairs of the country at the federal level, has approved two major initiatives to advance Nigeria’s digital economy: the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project and the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trust.
The initiatives are focused on expanding connectivity to underserved communities and positioning Nigeria as a global leader in AI.
According to the Nairametrics news service, the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project aims to connect over 21 million people across 4,834 communities that currently lack basic mobile communications access, particularly in remote and rural areas. It will use a private-public partnership (PPP) funding model to attract private sector investment and accelerate the deployment of critical infrastructure.
The National Artificial Intelligence Trust, said to be the first of its kind globally, will consist of ten AI experts alongside two government representatives. It will mobilise resources, provide oversight, and guide the development of AI in Nigeria.
While there are few concrete details about either project at the moment, these initiatives are clearly seen as high-level priorities, given that they have the backing of the FEC, which is made up of the head of state, the chief of staff, supreme headquarters, the inspector-general of police and federal commissioners.
The Access Project also aligns with the Infrastructure pillar of the Communications Ministry’s Strategic Blueprint and complements Project Bridge, the government’s plan to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable across the country.
That project begins this year and is expected to increase internet penetration in Nigeria to over 70% and reduce the cost of access to the internet by over 60%.
Nairametrics says that Nigeria aims achieve the inclusion of at least 50% of the 33 million Nigerians currently without access to the internet.
