The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Enugu State Government have signed a 15-year lease agreement for the commission's Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre in Enugu.
The agreement will see the Enugu State Government take over and optimise the facilities as the Enugu Talent City and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute in line with Governor Peter Mbah's digital economy agenda.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Enugu, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the partnership aligned with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and the administration's ambition to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy driven by productivity, innovation and private sector growth.
Maida said Governor Mbah had demonstrated a clear vision to position Enugu as a digital economy hub through investments in education, infrastructure, innovation and digital capacity.
"Our expectation is that this partnership will support Enugu's ambition to become a leading destination for digital services, artificial intelligence, startup incubation, outsourcing, research and technology-enabled enterprise," he said.
He added that the facilities were designed to deepen digital skills, support startups, attract investment, create jobs and position Nigeria as a competitive destination for business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing and other technology-enabled services.
Maida also praised the Enugu State Government's Smart Green Schools initiative, describing it as an investment in a future-ready economy.
He said technology-enabled schools, digital learning facilities, robotics and artificial intelligence laboratories reflected an understanding that education must evolve alongside technology.
According to him, advances in artificial intelligence, automation and digital technologies are reshaping industries, the workplace and public service delivery.
Governor Peter Mbah commended President Tinubu for recognising the role of the digital economy in achieving the administration's $1 trillion economic target.
He said artificial intelligence was projected to contribute about $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030, stressing that young people should not be left behind.
"We also believe that our talents, our brightest talents, should not be exported in person. We believe that they should export their talents outside the country from here," Mbah said.
The governor said the state also planned to transform the Digital Bridge Institute into a world-class AI institute and develop the Digital Industrial Park into a continental AI certification centre in collaboration with partners from Qatar.
He expressed confidence that the NCC would not regret handing over the facilities to the state, adding that the assets would be fully activated to deliver jobs and economic opportunities.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Economy and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, Arinze Chilo-Ofia, thanked the Federal Government and the NCC for entrusting Enugu State with the responsibility of managing and optimising the facilities.
