Key points
- PEBEC Director-General Princess Zahra Abubakar Audu called for enhanced digital interconnectivity among MDAs to reduce operational duplication.
- Deputy Chief of Staff to the President Ibrahim Hadejia stated that Nigeria can no longer afford fragmented institutional processes that weaken investor confidence.
- National Pension Commission representative Dr Charles Emukowhate disclosed that President Tinubu cleared outstanding pension liabilities worth N758 billion.
- Tony Blair Institute Country Director Obianuju Uchenna noted that digital public infrastructure can cut governance costs by up to 60 per cent.
- NAICOM Chief Executive Olusegun Omosehin revealed that digitalization has become mandatory under the Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025.
Main Story
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council has called for stronger digital integration among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to improve governance efficiency and ease of doing business in Nigeria.
The Director-General of PEBEC, Princess Zahra Abubakar Audu, made the call during the Retreat for Heads of MDAs and MDA Reform Champions in Abuja on Monday.
Audu noted that the council is promoting interconnectivity among agencies to ensure seamless service delivery for citizens and businesses by grouping MDAs into clusters based on operational interdependence.
The report indicated that the administration is targeting the elimination of outdated public sector delivery systems to restore commercial productivity. Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, emphasized that the presidency is committed to building a transparent, technology-enabled public sector.
The push for automation was echoed across regulatory heads, with the National Bureau of Statistics implementing an integrated administrative data system powered by artificial intelligence, while NAICOM and PenCom detailed ongoing transitions toward digital compliance and product distribution.
The Issues
- Overcoming fragmented institutional processes requires merging deeply entrenched legacy databases across distinct government agencies into unified platforms.
- Scaling up digital interoperability across critical sectors like health and agriculture demands significant initial capital investments in national cloud infrastructure.
- Eradicating operational duplication depends heavily on individual agencies willingly surrendering exclusive control over their administrative data siloes.
What’s Being Said
- “We identify the gaps and then we create the solutions to fix those gaps,” PEBEC Director-General Princess Zahra Abubakar Audu stated.
- Audu added that “the council will collaborate with agencies including National Information Technology Development Agency and Galaxy Backbone on digital integration.”
- Deputy Chief of Staff Ibrahim Hadejia said Nigeria could no longer afford “fragmented institutional processes and outdated service delivery systems that weaken productivity and reduced investor confidence.”
- National Pension Commission representative Dr Charles Emukowhate stated that “President Tinubu had approved and cleared outstanding pension liabilities worth N758 billion under the Renewed Hope Agenda, describing it as unprecedented in Nigeria’s history.”
- TBI Country Director Mrs Obianuju Uchenna noted that “digital public infrastructure could reduce governance costs by up to 60 per cent through seamless data sharing across agencies.”
What’s Next
- PEBEC will deepen technical collaborations with Galaxy Backbone and NITDA to build out secure shared data pipelines.
- Insurance companies will fast-track the deployment of digital consumer portals to meet the operational mandates set by the Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025.
- The National Bureau of Statistics will deploy machine learning tools across its newly integrated administrative data system to lower statistical production costs.
Bottom Line PEBEC’s push for shared digital infrastructure marks a critical attempt to dismantle administrative data siloes among Nigerian agencies, a reform that experts project could cut governance costs by up to 60 per cent while accelerating public service delivery.
