The Niger State Government has formally transitioned its Ministry of Communications Technology and Digital Economy into the Niger State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency (NSITDEA), marking a bold new chapter in the state’s digital transformation.
The transition, backed by the Niger State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency Law (2025), represents a deliberate and strategic decision by the administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to move technology governance out of the constraints of the traditional ministerial structure and into a leaner, faster, and more autonomous institutional model built for results.
Governor Bago has appointed Hon. Suleiman Isah as the pioneer Director General of the new agency. Isah previously served as the first-ever Commissioner for Communications Technology and Digital Economy in Niger State, a position he was appointed to in August 2023. His reappointment to lead the agency he helped conceive is a recognition of the significant progress recorded under his watch and a signal of the administration’s confidence in his vision and capacity to deliver.
From Ministry to Agency: Why the Change
The decision to replace the ministry with a statutory agency was not taken lightly. It reflects a growing recognition across Nigeria and the African continent that technology governance requires a different kind of institutional DNA — one that can move at the speed of innovation, attract and retain technical talent, forge partnerships with the private sector and development organisations, and execute projects without being slowed down by layers of bureaucratic process.
Under the NSITDEA Law (2025), the agency is established as an independent statutory body governed by a board and led by a Director General appointed by the Governor for a renewable four-year term. A dedicated funding mechanism drawing on a levy from the state’s internally generated revenue ensures the agency can plan and execute with a degree of financial independence that a ministry could not enjoy. The agency also holds regulatory authority over digital service providers and ICT operators within Niger State, in line with federal law.
About the Director General
Hon. Suleiman Isah is one of Nigeria’s most credentialled technology administrators at the sub-national level. He holds a Master of Science in Information Security and Digital Forensics from the University of East London and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Information Technology from Igbinedion University, Okada. He is also a Cisco Certified Network Associate, a Certified Ethical Hacker, a RedHat Certified Engineer, and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria.
Before his appointment as Commissioner, Isah served for nearly a decade at the Federal Inland Revenue Service, where he rose to the positions of Network Security Incident Monitoring Manager and IT Risk and Resource Analyst, overseeing the protection of Nigeria’s national revenue systems and taxpayer data across more than 100 offices nationwide. He also served as Special Assistant on Technical Matters to the Managing Director of the Upper Niger River Basin Development Authority, and as Special Advisor on Digital Transformation and ICT to the Niger State Internal Revenue Service, where he introduced automation tools that strengthened revenue collection.
As Commissioner, Isah built the ministry from scratch — a task he has likened to laying a foundation while simultaneously constructing the building. In under two years, the ministry introduced AI-monitored home-based examinations for civil service recruitment, launched the TechSis programme to drive female participation in the technology sector, partnered with the United Nations Development Programme to establish a MakerSpace innovation hub at the Abdulsalam Youth Centre in Minna, secured a landmark policy abolishing fibre optic right-of-way charges across the state, initiated the digitalisation of patient records across 23 secondary health facilities through a unified hospital card, deployed biometric payroll verification systems that eliminated ghost workers from the state’s payroll, and built a unified data governance framework spanning all 25 local government areas. In May 2025, he was named among Nigeria’s 50 Most Valuable Personalities in the Digital Economy by IT Edge News Africa.
What to Expect from NSITDEA
Under Isah’s leadership, NSITDEA will serve as the central driver of Niger State’s digital agenda. The agency will develop and enforce technology policy across all ministries, departments, and agencies; provide technical support to government institutions adopting digital tools; license and regulate digital service providers operating within the state; and facilitate the creation of technology hubs, innovation parks, and incubation centres to support startups and attract private investment.
The agency will also accelerate the delivery of e-government platforms that make it easier for citizens to access public services without leaving their communities, and will maintain a startup and innovation registry aligned with the Nigeria Startup Act to improve the ease of doing business in the technology sector.
Governor Bago’s administration remains firmly committed to achieving 75 percent digital literacy across Niger State by 2027. NSITDEA will be the engine through which that goal is pursued — through training, infrastructure, partnership, and policy.
The Governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for businesses, protecting digital infrastructure, and ensuring that the benefits of the digital economy reach every community across Niger State’s 25 local government areas.
For media enquiries, visit the official NSITDEA website or follow the agency’s communications channels for updates on programmes, policies, and initiatives.
