The South South Development Commission (SSDC) has intensified efforts to position the region to fully harness the potentials of Information Technology for youth development. In furtherance of this goal, the youth-friendly Managing Director of the Commission, Ms. Usoro Akpabio, paid a courtesy visit to the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, yesterday at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

The visit underscored SSDC’s commitment to strategic partnerships aimed at expanding digital skills, innovation, and inclusive access to ICT opportunities for young people across the six South-South states.

Ms. Akpabio emphasised the region’s vast youth tech-ready population and its strategic importance to Nigeria’s economic growth, noting that targeted collaboration with NITDA would help bridge digital skills gaps, create employment pathways, and unlock innovation-driven development.

She described NITDA as a critical national institution whose leadership in digital capacity building, ICT infrastructure, and innovation aligns strongly with SSDC’s mandate to drive sustainable regional development.

In his response, the NITDA Director General reaffirmed the Agency’s readiness to collaborate with SSDC in deploying technology-driven programmes that support youth empowerment, innovation, and economic diversification in the South-South region.

The engagement signals a growing alignment between federal digital economy initiatives and regional development strategies, with the South-South poised to emerge as a hub for digital talent and innovation.