By Charles Pemu 
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the World Bank (WB) have issued a joint warning that Nigeria’s weak infrastructure and significant regulatory gaps could prevent the country from unlocking the full potential of its billion-dollar digital economy.
The stern caution came via the new Digital Trade for Africa report, which assessed Nigeria alongside five other African nations. While the report acknowledged Nigeria’s progress in expanding digital infrastructure, it stressed that internet access remains highly uneven, especially between urban and rural areas.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Benjamin Kalu, echoed the urgency of the report, stating that expanding broadband infrastructure across the country is “highly imminent, else the world would leave Nigeria behind.”
“The world has already moved in this direction, and any delay risks leaving us behind while others surge ahead,” Kalu said on the sidelines of the WTO–Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Kalu is Nigeria’s representative on the WTO–IPU Steering Committee.
The WTO report noted that while Nigeria has outperformed several other ECOWAS countries in digital trade strength, it continues to lag behind Ghana. To catch up, Nigeria must urgently:
- Expand fiber optic infrastructure and enhance last-mile connectivity to bridge the urban-rural divide.
- Strengthen competition in the telecommunications sector to drive affordability and quality.
- Clarify the scope of data storage and processing requirements for cross-border data exchange, addressing “data sovereignty.”
- Improve the regulatory and institutional framework for online consumer rights and protection.
The report also criticized Nigeria for failing to bind its trade regime for key digital trade-enabling services, such as computer and distribution, and for not eliminating tariffs on information technology goods under the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA).
Despite the policy challenges, the report highlighted the steady growth in Nigeria’s exports of digitally delivered services since 2021, signaling increasing integration into global markets.
Kalu emphasized that Parliament must be the driving force behind the digital transformation, focusing on lawmaking, advocacy, and oversight.
“Trade is no longer what it used to be. Relying solely on traditional trading systems will not deliver the economic value we seek,” Kalu explained. He stressed the need to communicate the value of digital trade to those rooted in traditional systems, such as cocoa and palm oil sellers, to simplify transactions and expand markets.
Kalu proposed developing a legislative toolkit to monitor how parliaments across Africa are addressing digital trade to ensure “synergy across all countries on the continent” needed for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The report concluded with a final warning: “Nigeria has the foundations to leverage digital trade as a pillar of economic growth, however, without urgent reforms in infrastructure, regulation and competition, the country risks leaving its digital goldmine untapped.”