NITDA, NIMC collaboration on PKI, DPI development hailed as timely

A recently announced collaboration between two government agencies in Nigeria to develop and integrate Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has been described as timely and a giant step towards securing all kinds of transactions in the country’s digital space.

An opinion written by tech journalist Shuaib S. Agaka and published by Premium Times makes a strong case for the collaboration, highlighting the major benefits of PKI and DPI for Nigeria as a country fully engaged it its digital transformation agenda.

Recently, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) agreed on a collaboration that seeks to expand the use of PKI and DPI to enhance the management of digital identity and other digital transactions.

The write-up argues that for a country that wants to implement its digital economy, the importance of PKI and DPI cannot be over-emphasized as it can enable an ecosystem of trusted digital identities and secure authentication, among other things.

It says the move by NIMC and NITDA not only reflects the government’s willingness to better deal with challenges it has wrestled with in the past with regard to digital identity management, payment ecosystems, and data exchange capabilities, it also “signifies the nation’s commitment to enhancing citizen services, fostering innovation, and unlocking economic potential in the digital realm.”

Among the many issues, the article highlights that the collaboration on developing this infrastructure will help in strengthening data security and privacy in digital transactions across sectors, simplify and ease up digital transactions including those requiring data exchange among government and private sector institutions, ensure regulatory compliance especially in the financial industry, and bolster cyber security, just to mention these. And speaking about cybersecurity, the opinion writer says the situation has bene worrisome in Nigeria with banking institutions reported to have suffered over 150 billion Naira (around $118 billion at current rate) in losses in the past three years.

The collaboration on PKI and DPI, he holds therefore “heralds a transformative era for Nigeria’s digital economy, security, and societal progress,” through fostering “collaborative partnerships, upholding regulatory compliance, and prioritising cybersecurity and privacy.”

Digital signature policy under consideration to drive trade in West Africa

Meanwhile, as part of concerted actions to promote digital trade and digital government, stakeholders have been reflecting on how to put in place a common digital signatures certification policy in West Africa.

This was the crux of a recent regional workshop organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with support from the European Union and the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub, according to an announcement from APO.

Progress made by member sates at national level regarding the digital signatures certification policy was also reviewed, while guidelines for the certification policy were adopted.

An ECOWAS representative said during the meeting that the regional bloc is committed to fronting the region’s digital transformation agenda in collaboration with its partners.

Article Topics

Africa  |  digital identity  |  digital public infrastructure  |  electronic-signature  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  Nigeria  |  PKI