NITDA deploys AI to turn youths’ ideas into policies

The Director General, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE gave a goodwill message at the Opening Ceremony of the National Youth Conference, 2026 held at the office of the National Security Adviser, Abuja

"Nigerian youths, a strategic asset to the country." Inuwa, DG NITDA.

.... Says "the conference was designed to create a direct channel through which young people could communicate their expectations, frustrations and ideas to government."

The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, has unveiled plans to deploy technology and Artificial Intelligence, AI, to capture, analyse and organise ideas generated by young Nigerians at the maiden National Youth Conference.

This is with a view to transforming their aspirations into policy proposals, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, Director General of the Agency disclosed on Friday while delivering a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the youth conference, in Abuja.

Inuwa described Nigerian youths as a strategic asset to the country, saying the conference was designed to create a direct channel through which young people could communicate their expectations, frustrations and ideas to government.

According to him, although social media platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok have provided powerful avenues for youths to express themselves, the huge volume of online content makes it difficult for government to distinguish genuine aspirations and policy ideas from misinformation and other forms of online noise.

He said the conference would therefore help government to “filter the noise” and identify genuine signals in conversations among young Nigerians.

Rather than relying solely on scattered online conversations, Inuwa said the initiative would provide a structured platform for government to understand the needs and expectations of youths across different sectors of the economy.

He said: “It is a deliberate step to make sure your voices, your aspirations, your ideas are brought closer to the heart of national decision-making. This conference is also for the administration to listen to what you want government to do in terms of the economy, job creation, technology, and creating a greater Nigeria.”

The NITDA boss announced that the agency, in partnership with the relevant ministry, would deploy technology to capture contributions from participants, while AI would analyse and organise the submissions into thematic areas.

He explained that the resulting information would be presented to a committee to enhance its understanding of the issues raised by the youths and support the development of policy proposals.

Inuwa said technology would also create opportunities for remote participation, while AI would help capture and interpret the views of a wider pool of young Nigerians.

He stressed that the objective was to ensure that young people were not excluded from the process simply because they could not attend the conference physically.

The NITDA DG assured participants that their contributions would be captured, analysed and recorded, creating a trail through which their ideas could move from the conference floor into the policy process.

“I want to assure you that all your discussions will be captured, and the technology will keep it, and we will present it to the committee, and government will use that to turn your aspirations into ideas, ideas into proposals, proposals into policies for government to build the policies you want,” he said.

Inuwa further assured that NITDA would remain involved throughout the process, promising that the agency would support the initiative “end to end” and ensure that the technology-driven engagement was conducted openly and transparently.

The Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, led other dignitaries at the opening ceremony. They included the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu; National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Akinteye Hafeez; representatives of Commissioners of Youth Development from the 36 states, and members of the academia.

The National Youth Conference 2026 is a multi-stage national engagement covering six broad areas: governance and political participation; entrepreneurship and job creation; climate action and energy transition; education and future-ready skills; technology and digital innovation; and security and social cohesion.

The conference is designed to draw participation from young Nigerians across the country's 360 federal constituencies, the six geopolitical zones and the diaspora.

The six geopolitical zones are expected to hold dedicated virtual sessions for 12 days, from October 5 to 17, 2026, with technical support from NITDA.