CITAD flags gender, environmental gaps in Nigeria’s 2023 digital economy plan
Kola Oyelere, Kano
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has raised concerns over what it described as significant gender and environmental injustices embedded in Nigeria’s 2023 Digital Economy Strategic Plan, calling for an urgent review to make the policy more inclusive and sustainable.
Speaking at the 5th press briefing of the project, “Greening and Feminist Centering of the National Digital Transformation Agenda,” held on December 17, 2025, CITAD said its assessment revealed that the national digital strategy prioritises technological expansion and economic efficiency while overlooking social justice and environmental sustainability.
Delivering the briefing, the Project Lead, Greening and Feminist Centering of the National Digital Transformation Agenda, Fatima Babakura, said Nigeria stands at a critical moment, warning that failure to act could entrench inequality and ecological harm for years.
The project, implemented by CITAD with support from the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), aims to identify gender and climate gaps in Nigeria’s digital policies and promote a digital ecosystem rooted in feminist and climate justice principles.
According to CITAD, the Digital Economy Strategic Plan fails to adequately integrate gender considerations across its objectives and implementation framework. Women and girls, the organisation noted, are only marginally mentioned, with no clear targets, timelines, or accountability mechanisms to address long-standing barriers such as unequal access to digital skills, exclusion from emerging technology sectors, and limited support for women-led digital enterprises.
“If left unchanged, this approach risks widening Nigeria’s digital gender divide and excluding millions of women from the benefits of digital transformation,” the organisation warned.
CITAD also criticised the absence of environmental and climate justice considerations in the plan, noting that the expansion of digital infrastructure—such as data centres, broadband networks, and ICT devices—comes with serious environmental consequences. These include increased energy consumption, carbon emissions, and the growing challenge of electronic waste.
The organisation stressed that the strategy makes no provision for environmental impact assessments, e-waste management systems, or the adoption of renewable and low-carbon energy solutions, a gap it said could expose vulnerable communities to environmental harm and turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for electronic waste.
CITAD argued that these shortcomings contradict Nigeria’s commitments to sustainable development and climate action, adding that a digital economy that ignores environmental sustainability and gender inclusion cannot deliver equitable development.
In response, the organisation called on the Federal Government, particularly the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, to immediately review the Digital Economy Strategic Plan. It urged that gender justice and environmental sustainability be deliberately integrated across all pillars of the policy, supported by measurable targets, adequate funding, and enforceable accountability mechanisms.
CITAD further advocated stronger collaboration among the Federal Ministry of Communications, the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to ensure that digital development aligns with national climate goals and gender equality commitments.
The organisation also appealed to civil society groups, the media, development partners, and the private sector to sustain advocacy for what it described as a feminist and green digital future.
“Our message is simple and clear,” she said. “Nigeria’s digital future must be just, inclusive, and green.”
