FG inaugurates National Centre for Artificial Intelligence Robotics

The Federal Government has inaugurated a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in a move to scale Nigeria’s Information Communication Technology.

Built by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the centre is said to boost the development of emerging technologies in preparing Nigeria for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ali Pantami, said the centre “will serve as a leading hub of innovation, research and development, knowledge transfer, and training in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and other emerging technologies.”

He also said, “Our adoption of regulatory sandbox frameworks for testing technology in a controlled environment will enable the center accelerate the progress we are making in the development of our digital economy.”

Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, noted that the centre is one of the projects that is demonstrating Nigeria’s determination to join the league of countries that are already making fortunes from digital economy.

Abdullahi said NITDA was developing platforms that would provide opportunities for young Nigerians to showcase their ingenuity in ICT.

He said, “This project is one among many of our developmental programmes in accordance with NITDA’s core mandate of facilitating the growth of Information Technology (IT) development in Nigeria.

“We are focused on providing support for viable innovations with socio-economic impact as well as a level playing field for all Nigerians to thrive in. As we enter the age of advanced technological breakthroughs such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Nigeria cannot be left out in harnessing the advantages of AI, Robotics and other emerging technologies.”