In a bold legislative move poised to reshape the nation’s economic landscape, the Federal Government is targeting a monumental $210 billion valuation for Nigeria’s digital economy by 2027, a projection hinged on the imminent passage of the National Digital Economy Bill, 2025 currently awaiting President Bola Tinubu’s signature.
This ambitious figure would see the digital sector contributing 21 per cent to the government’s overarching target of building a $1 trillion national economy.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, hails the bill as a fundamental catalyst for this growth, positioning it as the legal bedrock of how Nigeria will conduct business, deliver services, and engage with the global digital ecosystem for decades to come.
This legislative framework arrives at a critical juncture, as Nigeria’s digital economy currently contributes approximately 19 per cent to its GDP, a value estimated at around $23 billion, reflecting significant growth in recent years driven by increasing internet penetration, a young and tech-savvy population, and a thriving startup ecosystem.
At its core, the bill performs a seemingly simple yet profoundly transformative function: it grants electronic transactions full legal validity.
In a move that promises to dismantle bureaucratic inertia, the legislation mandates that electronic signatures carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones, digital contracts are as binding as their paper counterparts, and government agencies must accept electronic filings, liberating citizens and businesses from the tyranny of physical signatures, paper documents, and in-person appearances.
It introduces the concept of secure “digital signatures” with specific security requirements, establishes rules for electronic timestamps and transferable records like digital bills of lading, and even recognises foreign electronic signatures to facilitate international digital trade.
Perhaps its most impactful provision is the mandate for all government institutions to digitise their operations and services, requiring the establishment of ICT units and the creation of a national data exchange system to allow agencies to share information seamlessly, thereby eliminating the need for citizens to repeatedly submit the same documents
. The bill even requires that ICT infrastructure be included in the design of all new government construction projects and that public officers obtain digital literacy certification for promotion, ensuring the government can effectively operate the systems it is building. For consumers and businesses, the bill ushers in a new era of rights and protections.
