Bosun Tijani withdraws from ITU Deputy Secretary-General race

Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has withdrawn from the race for Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Despite being nominated by President Bola Tinubu, Tijani announced his decision to step down to focus on domestic digital infrastructure projects.

Tijani noted that while the position offered a historic opportunity for a Nigerian to serve as an elected official in the ITU’s 160-year history, he believes his most consequential contribution is to remain focused on critical work at home.

His priority remains the execution of several major national initiatives, most notably Project BRIDGE, which aims to deliver a 90,000-kilometre open-access fibre network across Nigeria. Other ongoing projects include the National Universal Connectivity Access Programme, the deployment of two new communications satellites, and the implementation of a national alphanumeric postcode system.