President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria’s push toward a $1 trillion economy will rely heavily on improving productivity, deepening innovation and equipping the workforce with globally competitive skills.
Speaking at the 3MTT Nigeria National Impact Summit in Abuja, the President—represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume—said the country must continue to treat human capital as its strongest economic asset under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He noted that rapid shifts in technology are reshaping global markets, and countries that lead are those that deliberately build strong digital and technical talent pipelines. According to him, digital skills now power growth across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, education and public service, creating new opportunities for small businesses and young entrepreneurs.
Tinubu described the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme as a practical example of what focused execution can achieve. The initiative has attracted more than 1.8 million applications from every local government area, with new startups and job placements emerging nationwide.
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He said the programme is helping decentralise opportunity, giving young Nigerians outside major cities access to digital training and jobs that were previously out of reach. This, he added, is essential for strengthening Nigeria’s SME landscape and widening participation in the digital economy.
The President also commended the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, as well as key partners including IHS Towers, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Google, Microsoft, Huawei, Moniepoint, UNDP and the European Union, for supporting the programme.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, said about 135,000 Nigerians have been trained in the past two years, with many securing well-paid roles in tech companies while others advanced to further studies abroad.
He added that the Federal Government has approved the deployment of 4,000 telecom infrastructure units across rural areas to connect 23 million unserved Nigerians, ensuring broader access to digital opportunities that can support small business growth.
Tijani said the digital economy sector is projected to create about 170 million jobs by 2030 for people with technical skills. He noted that NCC provided laptops and gadgets worth N1.5 billion for trainees, while at least 15,000 beneficiaries have already secured direct jobs across the country.
The Minister called for continued private-sector participation, noting that 3MTT now has community managers in all 36 states and the FCT, as well as over 600 facility agents working across all local government areas.
