The Federal Government has partnered Meta to launch GovGuide Nigeria, an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot designed to provide Nigerians with easier access to information on government services in multiple local languages.
The initiative was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, following the unveiling of Meta’s Economic Impact Report in Nigeria.
The ministry discloses that the GovGuide Nigeria is a fully operational multilingual voice and text chatbot developed through a collaboration involving Meta, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and a local technology firm – Publica AI.
According to the ministry, the platform would provide seamless access to comprehensive information on all government services through a web-based interface and support communication in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
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It added that the initiative demonstrated the socio-economic potential of open-source artificial intelligence technologies in Africa and demonstrated practical applications of Meta’s open-source AI models, including Llama.
Commenting on the initiative, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the project aligned with the government’s efforts to improve access to public services through emerging technologies.
The minister said: “The GovGuide initiative reflects our commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence to make government services and information more accessible and responsive to the needs of Nigerians.
“By deploying AI-powered tools in local languages and on platforms people already use daily, we are improving access to public services and also strengthening transparency, trust, and citizen engagement.
“As Nigeria continues to grow its digital economy, partnerships like this demonstrate how innovation can improve productivity, unlock opportunities, and bring government closer to the people”, he added.
Speaking at the forum, Meta’s Head of Public Policy, Sade Dada, described open-source AI as a key driver of economic growth and productivity and that GovGuide Nigeria demonstrated how such technologies could be applied to solve practical challenges.
She clarified: “Meta’s open-source AI is critical to economic growth and productivity — and GovGuide Nigeria, launched in partnership with the Federal Ministry, is a clear example of what this looks like in practice
“GovGuide Nigeria is a voice and text AI assistant in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba that gives every Nigerian, including rural and low-literacy users, easier access to information on government services”, the IT expert added.
