E-Governance initiatives in Nigeria

With ever growing information, the fast technological changes and the rapid emergence of social media as an engagement and interactive tool, the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is inevitable. In the past years, a number of activities were implemented to enhance the use of ICT as a key tool for development. Particularly, the government has continued to pay greater attention to the use of ICT in achieving better government. This has led to an efficient, speedy and transparent dissemination of information to the public and other agencies for performance of governments' administrative activities as well as increase government-citizen relationship. The shift from Government to e-Government aims `to develop national competitiveness and enhance quality of public services' by establishing an effective, systematic and productive e-Government. In this paper, we present e-Governance initiatives in Nigeria, including national policies, strategies and programs, current situation, and available online services. The findings of this study highlight the role of Internet, particularly the World Wide Web, which has made it easier for citizens to locate and download official information and to conduct transactions irrespective of time and location.