The Federal Government of Nigeria is working towards removing all glitches against seamless digital payments and e-commerce across the country. The move, which is being driven by the Office of the Vice President through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment alongside development partners, is targeted at ensuring that citizens can transfer money easily using their mobile phones and other digital devices.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, revealed this on Tuesday in Abuja during a stakeholders roundtable.
Senator Hadejia emphasized the commitment of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to enhance financial inclusion through different strategies that focus on expanding digital payment infrastructure to reach the last mile and serve Nigerians who are financially excluded.
According to him, Nigeria already has significant advantages in the digital payments space compared to many other nations. He explained, “There are very few countries in the West that have the kind of ease of payment and banking that is available in Nigeria. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world, and by the time we begin to address these issues, we can use that reach to enter into the e-commerce stage. And like I said, from our own perspective, we are also worried about the exclusion that is inherent so that eligible Nigerians, no matter where they are, can have access to quality, simple financial services that are beyond educational and poverty levels.”
He further highlighted the importance of addressing the identity gap in the digital sector. “From the Office of the Vice President’s perspective, we look at digital payment and identity as really the last stumbling block in opening up e-commerce in Nigeria. Yes, there is e-commerce going on, but I think the biggest impediments surround the ease of payment, the identity issue and several things we are pushing, which are all interlinked,” he said.
Hadejia explained that solving these challenges would bring multiple benefits at once. “We are driving financial inclusion in the Office of the Vice President, which has to do with the strategy for different digital payment infrastructure that would essentially reach the last mile and serve the financially excluded. So, resolving these will amount to killing several birds with one stone. We have been to India and seen what robust PPI can do to e-commerce, and not just e-commerce but trade generally,” he added.
He assured that once government succeeds in making payment systems more seamless, millions of mobile phone users in Nigeria would be able to send and receive money with ease.
“You have a situation where, in a few years, the amount or volume of transaction from digital platforms is in excess of the traditional credit card. So, you have the likes of Wizard and Master card taking an interest, jumping into this space,” Hadejia noted.
He also linked the discussion to regional trade challenges. According to him, the inability of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to gain the needed traction is tied to unresolved issues around cross-border payments and identity.
“And, of course, to also identify why the African Free Continental Trade Agreement has simply refused to gain the traction that it should have several years after it was established. We can also point to the fact that the issues have to do potentially with the cross-border payment and the identity issue. We are hoping that discussions like this will offer solutions,” he explained.
Hadejia further stated that the roundtable was a platform to gather information and data that would help government in shaping regulation, upgrading infrastructure, and enacting laws to address problems slowing down e-commerce in Nigeria.
At the event, the Principal Research Fellow, International Economic Development Group, Dr Max Mendez-Parra of ODI Global, said his organization had been working with the African Continental Free Trade Secretariat and other African countries on digital trade through wide-ranging coordination in the negotiations of the digital trade protocol.
Mendez-Parra pointed out that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area would play a transformative role in the African economy and especially in Nigeria. He added that ODI had been assisting both the Nigerian government and the AFCTA Secretariat in Accra on various aspects linked to the agreement.
“In particular, we are supporting the negotiations and implementation of the investment protocol and the digital trade protocol as well. So, we have been working with the AFCTA. And this is what has brought us to Nigeria. Already, this is our fourth year that we have been here, and we are teaming up with the Office of the Vice President to basically enhance different aspects associated with the implementation of the digital trade protocol in Nigeria,” Mendez-Parra explained.
Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said her ministry in partnership with the AFCTA Secretariat in Accra had developed an initiative called the AFCTA DG Pass, which would be used to operationalize digital identities.
Represented by her Special Adviser, Patience Okala, the minister said the initiative was still at its early stage but expressed confidence that the deliberations at the roundtable and the concerns raised by participants could help strengthen the process.
She noted that seamless digital identity is essential in the digital payment system and would encourage more participation in e-commerce, financial technology, and cross-border trade.
For his part, Mallam Salisu Dasuki Nakande, Special Assistant to the President on ICT Policy, explained that the project began two years ago with support from the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima.
“And this year is more importantly about the conversation across the payment which we are doing in alignment with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. We believe that as much as Nigerians want to trade, they need to be able to make payments in a seamless way across board, and there is a lot of economy to tap in there. So, that is the basic for this conversation,” Nakande stated.
The roundtable also reinforced government’s plan to position Nigeria as a leading digital economy in Africa by resolving long-standing issues that hinder smooth financial transactions and limit the potential of e-commerce.