EU To Support Nigeria’s Digital Infrastructure Using Finland, Estonia’s Model
By Stella Enenche ,Abuja
The European Union (EU) has disclosed that it would be supporting Nigeria by bringing in Finland and Estonia’s X-Road model of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).
EU’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Guatier Mignot,made the disclosure on Thursday
at the Nigeria GovTech Conference and Awards 2025, in Abuja.
He said,”the solution we are looking at in with regards to the digital public infrastructure, is a solution Bosun Tijani has identified in Estonia, that Estonia and many other countries already apply, which is called the X-road. It’s the the overall model and technology that connects all the public sector within the public sector, but also with users.
“Example in Estonia, if you need an insurance for your car, and the inspection entity need to check that you have an insurance,,The whole system connects the person with the car to the insurance company, to the vehicle inspection company, so that they can check that your vehicle is properly insured. “
“The model is done in a way that protects your data, in the sense that you are not really exposed to knowledge of your data beyond what is strictly authorised by the user, but also, it’s done in a way that the system prompts you to know whether it’s about a school registration or your insurance or whatever, the system will help you follow up on whatever you need to do with the public authorities.
“This is the beauty. It’s very safe for the citizen in terms of data protection, and it’s very efficient, very much oriented to the needs of the citizen, voter registration, or it can be national, national identification, passport,
According to Mr. Mignot the EU had promised a package of digital infrastructure development assistance to Nigeria with 820 million Euros.
The Secretary to the Government o the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary ministry of Innovation Science and Technology, Mrs. Esuabana Nko-Asanye, said, “it calls on us to reflect on the progress we have made, identify the gaps that we met and chat new pathways to the digital transformation of Nigeria’s public sector in ways that directly impact governance and stimulate economic growth.”
The Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr. Dasuki Arabi in his speech said Nigeria digital transformation has gotten international recognition with awards.
“Nigeria is making waves in its digital transformation across the world, culminating in global recognition and the ongoing Open Government Partnership Summit in Spain, where Nigeria have won two awards.
“These awards are around advanced inclusion and responsive government and the government adoption of use of technology, among others.”
One of the award nominees, the Benue Digital Infrastructure Company Plc (BDIC), who was represented by the Chief of Staff to the Director of BDIC, Mr. Igoji Owoicho, note that, “The governor has adopted ICT as a tool for him to actually drive governance. And in less than a year, we have put things together around good governance initiative, by connecting several of the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) so that inter operation can be achieved.”
