Governance professionals on Thursday advocated a multi-stakeholder compact to guide Nigeria’s adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
They warned that without a coordinated action, Nigeria could be left behind in the global AI evolution.
The professionals said this at the 49th Annual Conference of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) on Thursday in Lagos.
The event had the theme: “Reimagining Governance: Navigating the Artificial Intelligence Revolution for Excellence”.
Dr Femi Oyenuga, Group Executive Director, Chams Holding Company, said that the multi-stakeholder compact must include government, private sector, regulatory authorities, civic societies and the academia.
According to him, this is to articulate principles and minimum standards for AI governance in corporate and public institutions.
He said that it was imperative for professionals charged with corporate governance and administration to enable AI adoption to deliver organisational and public value.
Oyenuga added that it was necessary to embed ethical, legal and institutional guardrails so that AI innovation would be accountable, transparent and inclusive.
He said that for governance professionals whose mandate was to safeguard integrity, transparency and fiduciary responsibility, AI revolution compelled a recalibration of roles, rules and capacities.
“This recalibration is pressing for Nigeria.
“Rapid digital adoption, expanding data footprints, and increasing private-sector experimentation with AI create opportunities to raise governance quality.
“Equally, uneven institutional capacity, legacy regulatory frameworks, and limited public understanding of algorithmic decision-making increase vulnerability to harm if AI is deployed without systemic oversight,” he said.
Oyenuga said that AI could materially improve governance outcomes by predictive oversight, operational transparency and efficiency and accessibility.
He said the objective for ICSAN should be to convert AI’s technological affordances into demonstrable gains in integrity, service delivery and stakeholder trust.
“We also encourage regulators to adopt risk-based, sector-specific guidance rather than blanket bans or prescriptive rules that hinder innovation.
“Boards should adopt explicit responsibilities for AI oversight, including appointment of a responsible executive and periodic independent algorithmic audits.
“ICSAN should publish model provisions for procurement, vendor due diligence, data stewardship and incident response tailored to Nigerian contexts, and also establish an ICSAN centre for digital governance,” he said.
Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, Founder, Udo Udoma and Belo-Osagie law firm, noted the importance of minimising regulatory risks in governing AI evolution.
He said it was critical to translate technological affordances into demonstrable gains in integrity, service delivery and stakeholder trust.
Udoma said that while AI would impact every aspect of business and governance, responsibilities must be defined and systems in place to ensure accountability.
“The challenge with AI, however, lies in the ambiguity of responsibility: when an AI system makes a decision, who is accountable – the programmer who built it, or the company that chose to deploy it?
“This underscores the urgent need for ICSAN and technical experts to come together and provide clarity and guidance for boards on the responsible use of AI.
“Stakeholders must also recognise how approachable the National Assembly is on these issues, and ICSAN is urged to forward its resolutions and recommend a clear path of accountability,” he said.
The President of ICSAN, Mrs Uto Ukpanah, said Artificial Intelligence was not fantasy but already a part of daily life.
She said that, from voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa, to recommendation systems on Netflix and Spotify, AI was enhancing experiences by making them more personalised and efficient.
She said that the global race for AI was not just about technology; but about shaping the future of societies.
The ICSAN president said that as countries would invest in AI research, the competition would intensify.
“The United States and China are currently leading the charge, but Europe, Canada and emerging markets are making significant strides.
“Nigeria cannot afford to stand aloof from this revolution.
“As professionals in governance and administration, we have a responsibility to lead the conversation on how AI can be harnessed ethically, responsibly and effectively to improve our institutions,” she said.
Ukpanah noted that the Nigeria Data Protection Act – General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) would become fully effective on Sept. 19.
She said it provided practical guidance on the interpretation and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 and explained several areas.
She, however, noted that alongside opportunities came challenges, as AI evolution raised questions about ethics, data privacy, human displacement and the accountability of machines in decision-making.
“Thus, as we re-imagine governance in this context, it is crucial to ensure that technology serves humanity, not the other way around,” she said.
Ukpanah pledged that the institute, through the conference, would ensure that professionals and policymakers would not merely react to AI but proactively shape its application in ways that would benefit the society. (NAN)
