The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has leased its Digital Industrial Park and Digital Learning Centre in Enugu State to the state government, paving the way for the facility to be transformed into the Enugu Talent City and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute under a new partnership.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Enugu State Government have entered into a 15-year lease agreement for the commission’s Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre in Enugu State.

Under the agreement signed on Tuesday at the Government House, Enugu, the state government will take over and optimise the facilities as the Enugu Talent City and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute, in line with Governor Peter Mbah’s digital economy agenda.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, Aminu Maida, said the partnership aligned with the Federal Government’s ambition to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy driven by productivity, innovation and private sector growth.

Maida said Mbah had demonstrated a clear commitment to positioning Enugu as a digital economic powerhouse through investments in education, infrastructure, innovation and digital capacity.

He said the state government was therefore well positioned to advance the objectives for which the facilities were established.

“Our expectation is that this partnership will support Enugu’s ambition to become a leading destination for digital services, artificial intelligence, startup incubation, outsourcing, research and technology-enabled enterprise.

“We also expect these facilities to become spaces where young people acquire relevant skills, entrepreneurs transform ideas into viable businesses and local enterprises connect to opportunities beyond Enugu and Nigeria,” he said.”

According to him, the facilities were conceived as platforms for innovation, entrepreneurship and human capital development, with the aim of deepening digital skills, supporting startups, attracting investment, creating jobs and positioning Nigeria as a competitive destination for business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing and other technology-enabled services.

In essence, they were built not merely as physical assets, but as platforms for developing the people and enterprises that will power Nigeria’s digital economy.

“So, for us at the NCC, completing physical infrastructure is only the beginning. Buildings alone do not create innovation. People do. Ideas do. Entrepreneurs do. And partnerships bring all these elements together,” Maida said.

The NCC boss also commended Governor Mbah’s investment in Smart Green Schools, describing the initiative as evidence of an administration preparing the state’s economy for the future.

“Physical infrastructure is essential to development, but infrastructure alone cannot deliver lasting prosperity. This is what makes the Smart Green Schools initiative significant. It recognises that preparing our children for tomorrow must begin today.

“Technology-enabled schools, digital learning facilities, robotics and artificial intelligence laboratories demonstrate an understanding that education must evolve alongside technology. That is leadership with the future in mind,” he said.

Maida added that investment in education and skills would raise productivity, expand economic opportunities and strengthen the ability of individuals and businesses to create value, particularly as artificial intelligence and automation continue to reshape industries.

On his part, Mbah commended President Tinubu for recognising the centrality of the digital economy to his administration’s plan to build a $1 trillion economy, as well as the role of state governments in driving the growth.

The governor said artificial intelligence was projected to contribute about $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030, stressing that Enugu could not afford to leave its young people behind.

He said the state was determined to ensure that its brightest talents could provide services to the global economy from Enugu rather than leaving the country physically.

“It is not a space you want your young ones to be missing. We also believe that our talents, our brightest talents, should not be exported in person. We believe that they should export their talents outside the country from here, and that is why we see huge benefits in these assets in terms of job creation and opportunities for our young people,” he said.

Mbah said the state government would transform the Digital Bridge Institute into a world-class AI institute and also reposition the Digital Industrial Park.

“If you have followed the news, we have already taken steps, working with some teams from Qatar, to make sure that it becomes a certification centre for AI on the continent,” he said.

The governor expressed confidence that the NCC would not regret its decision to temporarily hand over the facilities to the state government.

“I am sure that a few years down the line, we can come back here and be very proud of the decision we made today to activate these assets and to make sure that they are productive,” Mbah said.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Economy and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), Arinze Chilo-Ofia, thanked the Federal Government and the NCC for entrusting Enugu State with the two strategic assets.

He said the state government would work to activate and optimise the facilities and ensure that they fulfil the objectives for which they were conceived and built.