Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule is exploring a partnership with MTN Nigeria aimed at transforming service delivery, improving management of the state’s solid minerals sector, and enhancing digital connectivity across government operations.
This followed a meeting at the Government House in Lafia, where the governor hosted a high-level delegation from MTN Nigeria.
The MTN team was led by Mr. ThankGod Otorkpa, General Manager, Regional Operations for the North-West, alongside senior officials from the company’s enterprise and public sector divisions. The visit was facilitated by Ahmed Isah, popularly known as Ordinary President and founder of the Brekete Family.
Discussions focused on three key areas: digitisation of the Nasarawa State Secretariat and government workforce, deployment of technology across mining sites to improve transparency and efficiency, and alignment of MTN’s corporate social responsibility interventions with the state’s development priorities.
Governor Sule expressed enthusiasm about the proposed collaboration, stating that technology remains the most reliable means of ensuring transparency and accountability in revenue generation from the state’s mineral resources.
“We want to be able to generate more revenue, but I want to give them proper service so that the revenue will be legitimate and transparent. Nobody is cheating anyone. It is only technology that can give people the comfort that what we are doing is right,” he said.
He proposed starting with a pilot project at one of the state’s active mining sites, noting that Nasarawa currently has about five operational sites, including the country’s largest lithium processing plant, which is expected to be commissioned soon.
Drawing from his private sector experience, Sule emphasised the importance of phased implementation rather than large-scale rollouts, stressing that training would be critical to ensure civil servants fully adopt and manage the new systems.
The governor also acknowledged the work of the Nasarawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency (NASITDEA), recently upgraded to expand its mandate, expressing confidence that the MTN partnership would complement its efforts.
Earlier, Otorkpa described the proposed collaboration as potentially the first of its kind in Nigeria in terms of a state-led digital transformation initiative.
Michael Olani, a senior manager in MTN’s enterprise division, disclosed that preliminary engineering assessments had already been conducted at the state secretariat, with plans to deploy internet and ICT infrastructure to support services such as land administration and document processing.
He added that MTN’s network expansion plans would align with the state government’s development goals, noting that improved ICT penetration could stimulate youth innovation, economic participation, and increase internally generated revenue.
The company also indicated its willingness to align its corporate social responsibility interventions—funded by one percent of its revenue—with the state’s priority areas, in collaboration with the Digital Economy Agency.
Both parties agreed on next steps, including a site visit to assess feasibility at selected mining locations and further technical engagements between MTN and state officials.
Umar Mohammed
