The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has introduced two digital readiness tools to assess and enhance states’ digital transformation in Nigeria.
The two digital tools, according to a statement issued by NGF Director-General, Abdulateef Shittu on Wednesday in Abuja, are Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Readiness Index and Intelligent Revenue Authority (IRA) Index.
Shittu said that the tools were developed to ensure a more comprehensive representation and reflection of the country’s needs.
He said that the tools were developed after consultations with government institutions at the federal and state levels, financial institutions, private technology and digital service providers, and citizens.
“The DPI Readiness Index is a comprehensive tool that evaluates the readiness and maturity of states in adopting a DPI-approach to digital transformation and government administration.
“The index assesses the foundational digital capabilities of each state and provides a detailed analysis of their strengths, gaps and areas for improvement, taking into account the digital maturity level of each state.
He further stated that the DPI readiness was an index built around three key pillars – enabling environment, building blocks and delivery of public services.
Shittu said that the index offered a holistic approach to understanding the digital landscape of each state and how it intersects with public service delivery for citizens.
He also described the IRA index as a service-specific tool designed to assess the integration of DPI with revenue administration.
“The tool achieves this by evaluating core functionalities, operational efficiency and structural characteristics of revenue administration and the integration of key DPIs, such as digital IDs, data exchange mechanisms and payment systems to connect business logic and organisational silos.
“The IRA index aims to modernise revenue administration and fiscal management through a DPI-centred approach,’’ he said.
Shittu said that as part of design thinking process, NGF would be holding a validation workshop on Jan. 27 on the digit tools.
The workshop, he said, would bring together technical experts from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to review their feedback on the readiness tools.
He said that the workshop would also discuss user cases, preliminary feedback trends and recommendations on treatment measures.
The director-general listed the primary institutions invited for the event to include: the ministry/department/agency responsible for driving the digital transformation agenda of the states and the state internal revenue services.
“These representatives will be formally constituted as the reference group for DPI implementation at the state level,’’ he said.
Shittu invited stakeholders, including state governments, policy makers and development partners to explore how the DPI and IRA tools could be used to support digital transformation across states. (NAN)
