The push for a unified, data-driven public sector gathered momentum in Abia State as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) reaffirmed its support for sub-national governments seeking to modernise governance through enterprise architecture reforms.
At the Future Enterprise & Data Architecture of Abia State workshop themed “One Citizen, One Identity: Unlocking Data-Driven Governance,” policymakers, technocrats and development partners converged to map out a roadmap for an integrated digital public service anchored on interoperability and citizen-centric governance.
The workshop, organised by the state’s Ministry of Budget and Planning and declared open by Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, who was represented by Deputy Governor, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, focused on breaking institutional silos across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to boost internally generated revenue and improve service delivery.
The initiative aligns with the reform priorities of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the areas of economic restructuring, digital innovation and improved governance, with NITDA positioning itself as a strategic enabler of state-level digital transformation.
Speaking during a panel session titled “Breaking Silos, Building One Government,” NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Agency’s Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnership, Dr. Aristotle Onumo, underscored the centrality of collaboration in building interoperable government systems.
“One thing that is very clear is partnership and collaboration. If you want to take advantage of collective intelligence, then partnership is the key. If you want to succeed in building a unified government system, collaboration is the way to go,” he stated.
He cautioned that digital transformation extends beyond the deployment of technological infrastructure to encompass institutional culture and human capacity.
“Digital transformation is as much about people as it is about process and technology. If culture resists change, it can undermine strategy at every level. We must move from control to collaboration, and from isolation to integration,” he added.
Providing insight into the Agency’s strategic direction, Inuwa disclosed that digital literacy remains a foundational pillar of its national action plan.
He said NITDA is targeting 70 per cent digital literacy nationwide through structured interventions, including training 30 million Nigerians across both formal and informal sectors using digital learning platforms deployed through community and institutional partnerships.
He further revealed that digital education is being embedded into school curricula at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, while civil servants across the federal public service are undergoing digital capacity development programmes to strengthen institutional efficiency and readiness for interoperable governance systems.
On the question of systems integration, the DG described interoperability as “not optional but a necessity” for ensuring data integrity, operational efficiency and innovation within government.
“When we talk about interoperability, we mean that data generated in one agency should be accessible and usable by another in a consistent and secure format, without contradiction or confusion. That is how you build one government, not multiple disconnected systems,” he explained.
He added that a robust interoperability framework would not only streamline internal government processes but also unlock innovation opportunities for startups and young developers by enabling them to build solutions on structured public datasets.
Commending Abia’s leadership for its digital vision, he said, “If we achieve even 80 per cent of what has been presented here, Abia will not only lead among states, but it will also become a national reference point for digital innovation.”
The workshop closed with a renewed call for stronger federal–state collaboration, policy harmonisation and sustained investment in digital capacity to ensure that the vision of “One Citizen, One Identity” delivers measurable socio-economic impact.
