{"id":798,"date":"2026-10-24T11:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T11:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/24\/itu-council-bosun-tijani-samuel-nartey-george-and-other-african-candidates-to-watch\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T11:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T11:10:15","slug":"itu-council-bosun-tijani-samuel-nartey-george-and-other-african-candidates-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/24\/itu-council-bosun-tijani-samuel-nartey-george-and-other-african-candidates-to-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"ITU council: Bosun Tijani, Samuel Nartey George and other African candidates to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every time you stream a video, make a cross-border payment, or register a business online, you are interacting with policies debated at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU<\/a>).\u00a0 When your internet connection drops or roaming charges spike as soon as you cross an African border, you might not think of a conference room in Doha.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In different cases, it\u2019s easy to blame your network provider, but the real root of those daily digital hiccups often goes beyond telecom operators. Decisions about internet speed and how satellite bandwidth is divided across the continent are debated thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n

From November 9 to 27, 2026, in Doha, Qatar<\/strong>, candidates from around the world will gather for the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26) to elect the 48 Member States of the ITU Council for the 2027\u20132030 term.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ITU
ITU Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Also Read: <\/em><\/strong>ITU warns Africa faces prolonged internet outages with only one submarine cable repair ship<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The ITU Council \u2013 What you should know<\/h4>\n

The ITU is the United Nations\u2019 specialised agency for digital technology, satellite orbits, and global telecommunications. It acts as the governing body between major conferences that facilitate global policy, direct infrastructure budgets, and decide how global spectrum rules are drafted and implemented\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the election day in Doha, the electorate will comprise the official government delegations of all 194 ITU Member States. As a result, every country, big or small, gets a vote.<\/p>\n

Africa is allocated 13 designated seats on the 48-member Council<\/strong>. Having innovative, effective leaders in those 13 seats ensures that Africa\u2019s deepest issues, such as connectivity, the digital divide, and usage gap, remain priorities on the global stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ITU
PP 2022 Elections (IM: ITU)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Countries across Africa are already mobilising campaigns to secure a seat on the ITU Council for 2027-2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n

South Africa<\/strong> is seeking a re-election to maintain its influence over regional policy and spectrum governance, while Rwanda<\/strong> is campaigning for a fifth consecutive term after serving continuously since 2010. Nigeria and Uganda<\/strong> are both pushing for re-election after some major structural investments in local tech workforce and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and Senegal<\/strong> are mobilising regional support through the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) to defend Francophone representation. Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Tanzania, and Tunisia <\/strong>are all aiming for re-election, after serving on the 2023-2026 board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New bids are coming from Gabon, Cabo Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Libya, and Mali<\/strong>, which signals a desire across Africa to secure a direct voice in global governance.<\/p>\n

African candidates to watch<\/h4>\n

In most cases, the individuals spearheading each country\u2019s bids are their Minister of Communications, Innovation, or Technology (or equivalent telecoms regulator).\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Dr. \u2019Bosun Tijani (Nigeria)<\/h4>\n
Role: Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy<\/strong><\/pre>\n
A former tech entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB), Bosun Tijani brings startup speed to public administration. Rather than treating telecommunications as mere pipe-laying, he sees it as an engine for workforce export.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Key Initiative: The 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT)<\/a> program, aimed at training 3 million young Nigerians in software engineering, data science, and AI. Others are Project BRIDGE<\/a>, a deployment of 90,000 km of fibre-optic cables, 3,700 rural towers deployment, and various skill acquisition initiatives via the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).\u00a0<\/p>\n
\"Minister
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
2. Samuel Nartey George (Ghana)<\/h4>\n
Role: Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Samuel Nartey George has built a reputation as an advocate for African digital sovereignty. His focus is on ending Africa\u2019s reliance on foreign tech facilities and keeping cloud data within African territory.<\/p>\n
Key Initiative: Promoting homegrown tech ecosystems tailored to local African languages and context. He\u2019s at the forefront of regional payment systems like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to ensure intra-African trade and financial data stay secure within local networks.<\/p>\n
Also Read: PAPSS adds 6 Central African countries, now connects 28 African Central Banks<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
3. Solly Malatsi (South Africa)<\/h4>\n
Role: Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Malatsi is known for cutting middlemen and long administrative processes to make high-speed internet accessible beyond major urban hubs to transform Africa\u2019s most industrialised yet inequality-shaped economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Key Initiative: Reshaping state-owned enterprises and fast-tracking spectrum auctions to ensure competitive telecoms providers. He\u2019s also championing public-private partnerships to bridge the digital divide and fuel the growth of South Africa\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
4. Paula Ingabire (Rwanda)<\/h4>\n
Role: Minister of ICT and Innovation<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Under Ingabire\u2019s leadership, Rwanda has ceased viewing ICT as just another economic sector and now sees it as an avenue for innovative technology.<\/p>\n
\"Paula
Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Key Initiative: The Kigali Innovation City, a flagship pan-African innovation hub housing universities, tech ventures, and startup incubators under one umbrella. She is leading the regional Smart Africa initiative and also urging African youths to leverage social platforms for digital employment and technical skills.<\/p>\n
5. William Kabogo Gitau (Kenya)<\/h4>\n
Role: Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Inheriting the region\u2019s famed \u201cSilicon Savannah\u201d, Kabogo is focused on turning the startup ecosystem into digital governance.<\/p>\n
Key Initiative: He\u2019s pressing on the completion of Kenya\u2019s national AI and Emerging Technologies Policy. There\u2019s the acceleration of full public-sector digitisation to drive government transparency and bring citizen services into a single digital pipeline.<\/p>\n
6. Raafat Hindy (Egypt)<\/h4>\n
Role: Minister of Communications and Information Technology<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Hindy has nearly four decades of telecom engineering experience and uses this to approach digital transformation with structural innovations for Egypt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Key Initiative: Championing the Digital Egypt strategy to shift over 270 government services into unified digital platforms. Hindy is also driving public investment into electronics manufacturing and IT to position Egypt as a primary hub for global tech talent.<\/p>\n
7. Sid Ali Zerrouki (Algeria)<\/h4>\n
Role: Minister of Post and Telecommunications<\/strong><\/pre>\n
Sid Ali Zerrouki is known for emphasising national advancements in fibre optics, 5G, fixed high-speed internet, and exploring bilateral collaboration in cybersecurity and governance, and brings such a mindset to North Africa\u2019s telecom landscape.<\/p>\n
Key Initiative: He led Algeria\u2019s integration into the global \u201c50-in-5\u201d campaign for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Ali Zerrouki is advocating internationally for a global AI equity agency that emphasises sovereign technical capacity over basic training courses.<\/p>\n
\"Sid
Sid Ali, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Algeria<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Aside from the 13 Council seats, African leaders are contesting crucial individual posts within the ITU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava of Zimbabwe<\/strong> is running for Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), a position pivotal for directing funding and infrastructure programs to developing nations.<\/p>\n
Another competition is underway forAfrica\u2019s designated 3 slots on the 12-member Radio Regulations Board (RRB). Four African candidates, namely Dr Mohamed El-Moghazi<\/strong> (Egypt), Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko<\/strong> (Ghana), Basebi Mosinyi <\/strong>(Botswana), and Sana Zairi <\/strong>(Morocco), are vying for these 3 seats.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n
The RRB is the international body that resolves complex satellite orbit disputes and manages radio spectrum allocations, which makes the 3-slot vital for protecting Africa\u2019s wireless and space technology interests.<\/p>\n
A strong African voice in Doha means ensuring that international tech standards adapt to ongoing realities of lower data costs, internet coverage for rural communities, smartphone affordability and ensuring Africa controls its digital future<\/strong>.<\/pre>\n
Also Read: Africa has an energy crisis, and its digital infrastructure might suffer the heaviest hit<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Source: <\/p>\n
Technext<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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