By Francis Wilfred
The Nigerian Communications Commission has handed over its Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre in Enugu to the Enugu State Government under a 15-year operational lease, in a move aimed at deepening Nigeria’s digital economy and expanding tech opportunities beyond Lagos and Abuja.
Speaking at the handover ceremony on Thursday, August 7, 2026, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the facilities were designed as platforms to develop people, ideas and enterprises that will drive Nigeria’s digital future.
According to Maida, the parks will focus on digital skills development, startup incubation, job creation and attracting investment into business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing and other technology-enabled services.
“These facilities were conceived as platforms for innovation, entrepreneurship and human capital development,” he said. “Buildings alone do not create innovation. People do. Ideas do. Entrepreneurs do. And partnerships bring all these elements together.”
Maida noted that the NCC chose Enugu because of the state government’s deliberate investments in education, infrastructure and digital capacity under Governor Dr. Peter Mbah. He cited the administration’s plan to recruit 6,500 teachers for its Smart Green Schools initiative as evidence of a commitment to human capital.
He added that the partnership aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the national goal of building a $1 trillion economy driven by productivity, innovation and private sector growth.
The NCC boss stressed that the success of the park will be measured by its impact on skills, business creation and jobs, not just by the quality of infrastructure. He said technology must be matched with capacity, especially as artificial intelligence and automation reshape work and public service.
“No single institution can build Nigeria’s digital future alone,” Maida said, calling for collaboration among federal and state governments, the private sector, academia and development partners.
The NCC Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre are expected to provide spaces where young people can acquire relevant skills, entrepreneurs can scale businesses, and local enterprises can access opportunities beyond Enugu and Nigeria.
