As Nigeria continues its journey toward a digitally driven economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is stepping up efforts to strengthen the legal backbone of public sector technology projects.
Recently, the Agency hosted a one-day workshop on IT Contract Management for legal officers across parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
The session, held in Abuja, focused on sharpening participants’ understanding of procurement processes, negotiation strategies, compliance frameworks, and dispute resolution mechanisms in technology contracting.
Building Legal Muscles for the Digital Age
Representing the NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director of Regulations and Compliance, Barr. Emmanuel Edet, underscored how critical sound legal frameworks are to the success of Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
“Digital transformation is no longer an ambition but a necessity,” he noted. “The agreements guiding technology adoption and deployment carry long-term consequences for Nigeria’s development.”
He further emphasized that every IT-related contract must balance technology, law, and commerce to ensure that public investments deliver value.
“The contracts we negotiate, draft, and execute in the IT space must be technologically sound, legally robust, commercially fair, and strategically aligned with our institutional mandates,” he added.
From Training to Transformation
Beyond equipping officers with technical know-how, the workshop was designed to ignite collaboration and inspire reform within government institutions.
“Let this event be more than a training. It should be a prompt for collaboration, a forum for critical thinking, and a commencement for institutional reform. Engage actively, ask questions, challenge assumptions, and leave here not just informed, but empowered,” Abdullahi urged participants through Edet.
The call resonated with attendees drawn from legal, finance, technology, and administrative fields, all united by a shared goal of improving transparency and accountability in public contracting.
Participants described the training as both timely and practical, especially as IT contracts become increasingly complex in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
