By BONIFACE AKARAH

Nigeria's drive to build a digitally skilled workforce is gaining scale, with the Federal Government's 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme recording 1.87 million registrations across all 774 local government areas, as authorities push to connect more Nigerians to technology skills, jobs and emerging opportunities.

The figures were contained in a statement ahead of the second edition of GITEX NIGERIA, which will hold in Abuja and Lagos from August 31 to September 3.

According to the organisers, more than 135,000 Nigerians have already been trained through three cohorts of the 3MTT programme, while community resources have extended digital learning to more than l300,000 additional people.

The programme has also created 15,000 job and opportunity pathways, highlighting the government's attempt to link digital training with employment and economic opportunities rather than skills acquisition alone.

The development comes as Nigeria seeks to build the human capital required to support its expanding digital economy and reduce the skills gap associated with emerging technologies.

The Federal Government's digital transformation efforts are also being supported by Project BRIDGE, a national ICT infrastructure initiative designed to expand connectivity and provide the foundation for wider participation in the digital economy.

Project BRIDGE is projected to create up to 20,000 direct jobs and more than 150,000 indirect jobs, potentially generating more than 170,000 employment opportunities as the programme expands.

The initiative is also expected to train 5,000 Nigerian youths, raise internet penetration to above 70 per cent, and extend high-speed connectivity to millions of households, businesses, schools and hospitality establishments in underserved communities.

The scale of the programmes reflects a dual approach to Nigeria's digital transformation: expanding the infrastructure required to access technology while simultaneously increasing the number of Nigerians equipped to use and develop it.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), one of the agencies supporting the country's digital transformation agenda, has continued to emphasise talent development alongside infrastructure and responsible technology adoption.

GITEX NIGERIA will provide a platform for stakeholders to examine how these investments can translate into wider economic opportunities, particularly as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its position within Africa's rapidly expanding digital economy.

The event's second edition will feature technology and startup exhibitions, a Future Economy Conference, a Government Leadership and AI Summit, as well as the debut of FDX NIGERIA by GITEX, focused on finance and digital asset exchange.

Beyond the four-day event, however, the numbers from the 3MTT and Project BRIDGE programmes point to a broader national effort to build the workforce and infrastructure needed to support Nigeria's long-term digital ambitions.

With 1.87 million registrations already recorded under 3MTT and Project BRIDGE projected to generate more than 170,000 direct and indirect jobs, the next challenge will be converting training, connectivity and opportunity pathways into sustained employment, businesses and locally developed technology solutions.