By Nnamdi Ojiego

Zamfara State is on track to become Northern Nigeria’s leading tech hub, thanks to its robust ICT strategy spearheaded by the Zamfara Information and Communications Technology Development Agency, ZITDA. In this interview, ZITDA’s Executive Secretary, Dr, Habib Gajam, outlines the agency’s comprehensive efforts to transform the state’s digital landscape. According to him, with initiatives ranging from expanding broadband infrastructure and e-governance platforms to fostering digital literacy and empowering local businesses, Zamfara is positioning itself as a key player in Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem. Excerpts:

Congratulations on your award as one of the few states that have given zero right-of-way charges to telecom companies during the NBAN launch in Lagos recently. What does this recognition mean to you?

Well, first of all, we are not surprised because we have put in a lot of hard work and effort in the last two years since we came on board at the helm of affairs in Zamfara State. We have devised relevant policies and frameworks that will incentivize broadband investments in the state. Before that award, we were also at the National Council for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy that was held in Markudi, Benue State, late last year, and Zamfara emerged as the best state in terms of digital infrastructure development. So this is a recognition of the efforts that we are making in expanding our communications and digital infrastructure in terms of fibre connectivity, in terms of automation, and many other areas that we feel will help the state in propelling its digital economy. So the award in Lagos is a culmination of a lot of hard work and effort that we have put in place over the years.

Can you elaborate on ZITDA’s mandate and objectives, and how they align with the state government’s overall vision for Zamfara State?

ZITDA is vested with the responsibility of developing clear ICT policy, strategy, and direction for the state and it’s fundamentally built upon three core pillars: the first being the expansion of communications and digital infrastructure; the second being the implementation of e-governance platforms, and the third being the attainment of digital skills and digital literacy, in other words, ICT human capital. So these three critical pillars are the main vested responsibilities that the law has given the ZITDA to operate. And we have done a lot in these three critical areas that I have highlighted to you. Perhaps I will elaborate more later.

How does ZITDA plan to achieve its objectives, and what strategies has it put in place to drive ICT development in the state?

In terms of the first pillar, which is communications and digital infrastructure, we have removed right-of-way charges for telecom companies. We have taken it down to zero and that has attracted a lot of incentives even from the NCC through the Universal Services Provision Fund to lay fibre in about eight public institutions spanning around 10 kilometres including the Government House, the State Secretariat, the State House of Assembly, the High Court, the Specialist Hospital, the School of Nursing, the Internal Revenue Service as well as the GSM Village within the Gusau metropolis, all in an effort to drive the digital economy using internet access. The second pillar is e-governance implementation, and we have just launched the Zamfara Electronic Governance platform (e-GovConnect) which we are piloting for the State Executive Council to make governance seamless. We are trying to reduce the use of paperwork and files and all of those things. The third pillar has to do with training, and manpower capacity development in terms of our civil service. We aim to train civil servants across all levels in one form of digital literacy or the other to help them adapt to the new digital economy. Beyond that, we are also engaging stakeholders to launch the Zamfara Digital Framework which encapsulates our students in primary and secondary schools to make sure that they are trained with the ICT curriculum and even the wider society. So we are achieving a lot across these three critical pillars that I have highlighted.

What is the current state of ICT infrastructure in Zamfara? And what plans does ZITDA have to improve connectivity and access to ICT services?





https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/zamfara-ict-framework-zero-right-of-way-charges-revolutionising-states-digital-landscape-gajam/