There is a certain arrogance about the Bill that has little respect or accommodation for the legacy position or even relevance of others before it. Just like the child saying the father is too pristine to understand the modern practices of life – the threatening ubiquity of AI or the new protocol of the digital economy, e-governance, and modern service delivery, the Bill contemplates the past with disdain
THERE is some level of speed going on at the National Assembly, which is encouraging. The Assembly that is more into somnambulism literally is working with a most unusual speed to pass the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill 2025, introduced in the life of this administration.
There is so much excitement about the Bill that people are asking: What really is in this Bill? A player in the telecommunications industry told this writer that at the joint sitting of both Houses on Monday, November 10, 2025, a public hearing, the hall was completely full, in Abuja of all places, which perhaps was more than a genuine interest in the Bill.
Dr Bosun Tijani, who is Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, had the kind of audience he wanted to hear his message. It was a good pitch, just the kind of message people wanted to hear at this time.
Speaking at the hearing organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on ICT and Cybersecurity, Tijani said the Bill, when approved, would be a major vehicle towards achieving the government’s projected $1trillion economy. This is good news beyond measure.
Displaying a notable erudition of the industry and a laser-focused businessman’s approach, which were further boosted by a strategic and high-level positioning in government, Tijani told a seemingly captive audience that, “This sector, which once contributed 16 per cent to our GDP, is now tracking at 19 per cent. Under the President’s leadership, we are targeting a $1 trillion economy with the digital economy contributing 21 per cent to GDP by 2027.”
A nation deficient in empirical data analytics as the basis for planning would usually jump at every messianic postulation as divine and would therefore suspend critical interrogations because of blind emotions and overwhelming expectations. This is not like building castles in the air, dear friend. You listen, after all, presentations are being made.
Both Senator Shuaib Afolabi, Chairman, Senate Committee, and Honourable Adedeji Olajide, his counterpart in the lower House, are on the same page with the Minister in this journey of great expectations, which may be different from what venerated English author Charles Dickens offered in the past.
They excitedly promised to quickly spruce up the Bill for a third reading in readiness for Presidential assent, which was expected to have been done last week. It is encouraging that something has attracted the urgent attention of the National Assembly, even if this is being done with less caution and too much speed.
“This Bill is being awaited by President Bola Tinubu for assent this week, being one of the catalysts for the actualisation of the projected $1 trillion economy,” Tijani pressed on.
You cannot fault Tijani’s patriotism. You cannot fault his readiness to work, and his commitment has attracted a lot of positive to the nation. However, it won’t be outlandish to question his regard and respect for the parastatals in his ministry and their overall alignment with his ultimate vision for the digital ecosystem.
Which particular Bill is being dressed up for assent? Have the excesses been trimmed?
When the Bill came up for hearing last year, this was the position we expressed on this page, and please permit a fairly long quote:
“It is fair to say that the Bill looks at governance with digital eyes from the psychedelic positioning of the young-at-heart who, perhaps, look at yesterday as a life too far gone and very antiquated. The Bill encourages you to do transactions without ever meeting your trade partners, and everything is executed to specifications, with the right signatures electronically appended, and with generous assurances of fidelity in the entire process. It will smooth processes and eliminate bureaucracy in government offices. It plans to reset Nigeria with a new engine, a digital one, for that matter.
“This is not a preview at all. But there are a couple of things which raise something more alarming than the proverbial red flag.
“In Part XV, under Miscellaneous, which is annotated as Supremacy of National Digital Economy and E-Governance Act, the Bill which is confusingly called an Act, states as follows: Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law but subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in all matters relating to the digital economy and e-government, the provisions of the Act shall override the provisions of any other Law.; and The Regulatory agency shall establish regulations on the use and adoption of new and emerging technologies as it relates to information technology.
“The foregoing examples will suffice. But here is my gut feel about the Bill. The Bill puts on the costume of dollars to beguile a nation and a National Assembly that may not see beyond the superficiality of monetary attractions, especially in a country with roaring inflation and troubling food prices. The Bill, which is like a child trying to appropriate the responsibilities of a father, holds in absolute contempt other existing Acts, irrespective of age.
“Already in existence are the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015; Nigerian Communications Act 2003; The National Broadcasting Commission Act Cap N11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004; National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, and, in fact, there is already a very controversial Bill at the National Assembly which seeks to amend the existing NITDA Act. And then, this new one entirely.”
That was our position then. More than a year later, at a time the Bill is on a home run, industry operator, Engr Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ATCON), and Basil Udotai, a former director of Cybersecurity at the Office of the National Security Adviser, have gone beyond the maze of approbations to express their fears and reservations for the Bill.
In his submission, Adebayo, whose ALTON represents all licensed network and infrastructure operators in Nigeria, pegged his observation on five vital areas, namely: Regulatory overlap, Artificial Intelligence Regulation, Trust Service Providers, Ministerial Directive and Regulatory Independence, and Inter-Agency Collaboration.
For Udotai, “The Bill represented a chance Nigeria finally had to update the outdated legal structure that supports our digital economy and bring it in line with the converged technologies that now power global digital economies. The Bill skips this responsibility, leaving the core problem untouched, thus its impact will be tempered compared to countries that have modernised their structures by converging legal and institutional frameworks to align with technological convergence.”
On Regulatory overlap, ALTON observed that, “The Bill vests broad powers in the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) that intersect with the statutory mandate of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). To avoid duplication, we recommend a clear delineation – NITDA to lead on digital policy, e-governance, and standard setting; NCC to retain regulatory oversight on telecommunications networks, infrastructure, and digital services.”
ALTON also counselled that, “The provisions on AI should reflect international best practice by distinguishing between policy guidance (to be held by NITDA) and technical regulation (to remain under NCC). This dual structure – used in the UK, India, and the EU – ensures accountability while encouraging innovation.
ALTON particularly pointed out that Section 82 be reviewed to safeguard institutional independence and align with global standards that separate ministerial policy direction from operational regulation. No law should empower a minister to throw his weight around, I will want to add.
Others have observed too that NITDA is being empowered by the Bill to swallow up other parastatals in the Ministry and disrupt their activities and operations in a most severe way. They cannot all be wrong about a common observation in a Bill that will have far-reaching implications on other industries.
Multiple regulations have long been a malaise of the telecommunications industry. Unfortunately, this Bill comes with more headaches.
There is a certain arrogance about the Bill that has little respect or accommodation for the legacy position or even relevance of others before it. Just like the child saying the father is too pristine to understand the modern practices of life – the threatening ubiquity of AI or the new protocol of the digital economy, e-governance, and modern service delivery, the Bill contemplates the past with disdain.
The Bill, if assented to without concerned interests and observations being reflected, will introduce belligerence into inter-agency relationships, breed suspicion and chaos, and ironically subvert the new world it is designed to create.
I can see a Minister who means well. But in all his speed and patriotism, caution is counselled; otherwise, Prometheus will be making his way back to Nigeria in modern times. It is the responsibility of the National Assembly to balance the sundry views of the various stakeholders against the rapacious and ostentatious beliefs of the new kids on the block.
Our nation needs to embrace modern trade and governance practices, but within reason and without reproach and exclusion of others. The Minister needs everybody behind him in this game. Or is he playing for himself alone and a few others?
*Aihe writes from Abuja