The European Union (EU) has announced plans to support Nigeria in deploying the X-Road model of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), as successfully implemented in Finland and Estonia, to significantly enhance public service delivery across the country.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Gautier Mignot, disclosed this on Thursday at the Nigeria GovTech Conference and Awards 2025 organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in Abuja.
The conference focused on leveraging digital innovation to improve governance efficiency.
The X-Road is an open-source software framework that provides a secure, real-time data exchange layer between different information systems.
Mignot explained that the model could interconnect all public sector platforms while safeguarding citizens’ data privacy.
“The model is designed to protect your data in such a way that it is not exposed beyond what is strictly authorized by the user.
“Whether it’s school registration, insurance, or other public services, the system helps you seamlessly interact with government authorities. We are looking at adapting it as used in Estonia, Finland, and other European countries,” he said.
He added that the EU is also supporting Nigeria with the deployment of an additional 90,000 kilometres of fiber optic cables, improving digital literacy, building digital transformation centres, and providing an initial £8 million in grants and loans to advance the Nigeria Digital Economy Initiative.
The Director-General of BPSR, Dr. Dasuki Arabi, said the bureau had introduced several initiatives to accelerate government digitalisation for improved efficiency.
He explained that in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), BPSR began this process about three years ago, noting that these technologies are now becoming integral to federal government policies.
“We are also working to integrate distributed ledger technologies into BPSR’s operations to simplify routine tasks, secure sensitive documents, and optimize resource allocation for more effective service delivery,” he added.
Arabi emphasised the importance of human capacity development, saying, “We must invest in people — the true enablers of innovation. That’s why we are committed to training over 500,000 public servants on digital literacy and emerging technologies to sustain long-term impact.”
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, represented by Mrs. Esuabana Nko-Asanye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, said the federal government was implementing major reforms to strengthen the interoperability of government platforms and enhance digital identity.
He added that digitizing government services would reduce the cost of living and doing business, eliminate bottlenecks, and foster transparency that attracts investment, creates jobs, and unlocks the country’s innovation potential.
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, said the GovTech initiative was expanding the frontiers of governance and helping Nigeria adapt to disruptive technologies.
