Govt finalises AI coverage, seeks legislative backing

The federal government-backed Nationwide Synthetic Intelligence Technique might be submitted to the Nationwide Meeting for approval inside weeks, signalling a serious push to formalise AI governance in Africa’s largest economic system, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Financial system, Bosun Tijani, stated on Wednesday.

The technique, now not in draft type, was finalised after consultations with authorities businesses, academia, business gamers, and civil society, Tijani stated in a keynote tackle on the Disaster Administration Advocacy Month 2026 Convention in Lagos.

“I’m happy to share that Nigeria now has a Nationwide Synthetic Intelligence Technique. It’s now not a draft; it’s totally developed. Our coverage framework is anticipated to obtain ultimate legislative approval within the subsequent one or two weeks,” Tijani stated.

The minister highlighted that Nigeria has turn out to be the primary African nation to develop a government-backed giant language mannequin able to understanding and speaking in native languages, together with Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Ibibio, along with English. “This ensures our native context and languages are totally represented within the international AI ecosystem,” he stated.

The technique, first launched in 2024 and rolled out nationwide in 2025, positions AI as a driver of financial progress, sectoral transformation, and inclusive innovation.

Its framework outlines Nigeria’s ambition to turn out to be a number one AI hub in West Africa and a worldwide AI participant by 2030.

It rests on 5 pillars: constructing foundational AI infrastructure reminiscent of high-performance computing centres, clean-energy AI clusters, and upgraded information centres; fostering expertise by way of Centres of Excellence and innovation hubs; accelerating AI adoption throughout agriculture, healthcare, power, finance, and public companies; embedding moral safeguards for equity, transparency, and accountability; and establishing governance mechanisms for regulatory oversight.

Implementation will contain collaboration between public establishments, startups, academia, and private-sector companions, supported by monitoring frameworks, funding mechanisms, and milestone monitoring to scale AI analysis and expertise growth.

The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Financial system leads the technique, with technical assist from the Nationwide Info Know-how Improvement Company and its Nationwide Centre for Synthetic Intelligence and Robotics, alongside contributions from the Nigerian Communications Fee and Galaxy Spine.

The Disaster Administration Advocacy Month, organised by CMC Join LLP (Notion Consulting), convened contributors bodily and nearly, that includes classes on rising AI dangers and the necessity for smarter response frameworks in an more and more digital period.