Bukola Afeni
GITEX Nigeria has officially launched the second edition of West Africa’s largest tech, AI and startup event in Abuja.
The event which took place on Monday, was attended by senior government officials, international technology leaders and digital economy stakeholders, marked the beginning of the 2026 programme aimed at advancing sovereign AI and digital transformation ambitions, with the Abuja Government Leadership and AI Summit as the opening day’s major event.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, said Nigeria must move beyond consuming foreign technology and develop its own capabilities as it pursues economic transformation.
“Under the vision of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria is boldly driving toward a $1 trillion economy.
“To achieve economic transformation we must now move far beyond basic connectivity to build true indigenous innovation and digital sovereignty. GITEX NIGERIA provides the strategic platform where government vision aligns with private sector execution.
“This is our opportunity for decisive transition from being mere consumers of foreign technology to becoming global producers of talent, sovereign infrastructure, and inclusively designed AI, built by Nigeria, for Nigeria. We are leading a new era for Africa,” he said.
Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Nigeria was building the infrastructure and systems needed to strengthen its digital economy.
“Achieving true digital sovereignty means owning the capabilities, infrastructure, and intelligence that power our future. Through strategic initiatives like DL4ALL, 3MTT and Project BRIDGE, we are rapidly scaling our technical talent pool and extending high speed digital inclusion across every local government area.
“We are building the policy, cloud infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks necessary to host our data locally, deploy AI responsibly, and enhance overall national productivity. GITEX NIGERIA positions our country as a global force shaping the international tech ecosystem, not just participating in it,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo Olu, said Lagos had significant opportunities to attract investment in computing infrastructure and digital public services.
“Most international capital looks at Nigeria and sees consumer fintech. That was the last decade’s trade. Here is what I believe is being under priced today. First, compute,” Sanwo Olu said.
He said Lagos had strong subsea cable capacity but needed more computing infrastructure to handle the continent’s growing demand for AI services.
“Africa’s AI workloads are currently being processed in Europe. That is a latency problem, a cost problem, a data sovereignty problem, and therefore an investment opportunity,” he said.
Sanwo Olu also highlighted opportunities created by the state’s digitalisation of government services, including procurement, revenue, permitting, health records, transport and land administration.
The Abuja Government Leadership and AI Summit, held under the theme “Beyond Connectivity: The Bridge to Sovereign AI and Innovation,” brought together more than 500 public and private sector leaders and investors.
The discussions covered digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data sovereignty, connectivity, investment and partnerships aimed at strengthening Africa’s technology capacity.
GITEX Nigeria is taking place from August 31 to September 3 in Abuja and Lagos. The Lagos programme will run from September 2 to 3 and feature the Tech Expo, Future Economy Conference and FDX by GITEX.
