The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has announced his withdrawal from the race for the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, (ITU)
The Minister made the announcement through his social media platform LinkedIn on Friday, saying that he decided not to pursue the role after ‘careful consideration.’ One of his Media Aides, Isime Esene also confirmed the development in a chat with our Correspondent.
The Minister said he would rather concentrate on the enormous tasks and responsibilities given to him by President Bola Tinubu.
It was learnt that the President had on May 5, 2026, endorsed his aspiration to contest the position at the Union’s Plenipotentiary Conference holding in Doha in November.
Dr Tijani who would have announced his intention during the recent African Telecommunications Union Plenipotentiaries meeting Abuja, decided against the announcement for wider consultations.
Our Correspondent gathered that the withdrawal means Nigeria would not pursue what would have been a historic first in ITU leadership for 160 years, a Nigerian serving as an elected ITU official.
He described the opportunity as attractive both personally and for the country, but that his most valuable contribution for now lay in staying focused on the ongoing digital transformation around Nigeria.
‘After careful consideration, I have decided not to pursue the opportunity to contest for the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union.
‘The opportunity was undoubtedly attractive, both personally and for Nigeria, as it would have presented the historic prospect of a Nigerian serving as one of the ITU’s elected officials for the first time in its 160 year history.
‘However, I believe the most consequential contribution I can make at this time is to remain focused on the critical work before us at home,’ Dr Tijani said.
He listed several ongoing projects that needed his attention, including Project BRIDGE, a planned 90,000-kilometre open-access fibre rollout across the country, and the National Universal Connectivity Access Programme, which aims to extend mobile coverage to underserved communities through new telecoms towers.
The Minister further cited the planned acquisition of two new communications satellites by NigComSat, a national alphanumeric postcode system being undertaken by NIPOST, and the Nigeria Web Design Standards among other priorities.
President Tinubu had described Tijani, in his nomination letter to ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, as ‘a distinguished technology leader, policymaker, and global advocate for digital transformation.’
The Minister was elected Vice Chair of the ITU Council for 2025, Nigeria’s first leadership role on the Council in nearly 50 years, and was appointed in 2024 to the Digital Innovation Board of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development.