News Highlights:
- NITDA and NNPC’s RTI Unit are collaborating to accelerate digital transformation in Nigeria’s energy sector, focusing on emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and robotics.
- The partnership prioritises building strong linkages with Nigeria’s startup ecosystem and youth innovators, while also emphasising enabling policies like the Nigerian Startup Act.
Nigeria’s push to modernise its energy industry is gaining renewed momentum as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Unit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) move to deepen collaboration around digital transformation.
At the heart of this emerging partnership is a shared ambition to transition the sector from a resource-driven model to a technology-enabled ecosystem.
This direction formed the crux of a high-level engagement between both organisations on Tuesday, where discussions centred on deploying emerging technologies to reposition Nigeria’s energy landscape for efficiency, sustainability, and long-term growth.
Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, set the tone for the conversation by urging a paradigm shift within NNPC, and stressing the need for the company to move away from a traditional dependence on the “exploitation” of oil and gas resources and adopt a more innovative approach centred on the “exploration” of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics.
According to Inuwa, information technology has become a critical enabler across sectors, noting that innovation will play a major role in shaping the future of energy production, efficiency, and sustainability in Nigeria.
While outlining NITDA’s strategic priorities, which include promoting digital literacy, nurturing local talent, strengthening research ecosystems, and advancing indigenous technology solutions, Inuwa emphasised that reducing reliance on foreign technologies while encouraging home-grown innovation is essential to achieving digital sovereignty and sustainable economic growth.
The NITDA DG further disclosed that the Agency would support NNPC in building a stronger innovation pipeline capable of linking the company with Nigeria’s expanding startup ecosystem, assuring that startups would be encouraged, through incubation programmes and innovation challenges, to develop practical solutions tailored to the oil and gas industry.
The engagement also spotlighted NITDA’s youth-focused innovation drive, particularly among National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, many of whom are already developing solutions to real-world challenges through the Agency’s programmes.
Earlier, Director of NNPC RTI, Olatomiwa Olaniyi, said the visit was aimed at co-creating solutions and building a formidable partnership framework to accelerate innovation across the energy value chain.
He emphasised that collaboration among government agencies, industry players, and the broader technology ecosystem is critical to achieving sustainable innovation.
Presenting the mandate of the RTI Unit, Olaniyi said its focus is on driving excellence through innovation to improve operational efficiency, boost revenue generation, and support sustainable growth across NNPC’s business areas, including upstream, gas, power, and new energy.
He added that the unit operates a structured innovation framework built around strengthening research capabilities, developing prototypes, fostering strategic partnerships, attracting talent, and promoting a culture of continuous innovation.
Both organisations underscored the importance of enabling policies and regulatory frameworks in driving innovation, even as Inuwa noted that effective implementation of the Nigerian Startup Act would be key to supporting emerging technology ventures and scaling ideas into commercially viable solutions.
With this collaboration, NITDA and NNPC are positioning technology and innovation as central pillars for driving efficiency, diversification, and sustainable growth in Nigeria’s evolving energy sector.
