On 20 April, the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Nigeria National Centre launch ceremony was successfully held. The launch was jointly organised by UNESCO-ICHEI, UNESCO Priority Africa and External Relations Sector, UNESCO regional office in Abuja, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission of Nigeria (NUC), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). Over 70 representatives from governmental agencies, enterprises, international organisations and 13 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Nigeria participated in the Launch Ceremony.

IIOE Nigeria National Centre is jointly established by UNESCO-ICHEI and Nigeria, hosted at ABU. It will serve as a national and regional hub and create a supportive local higher education ecosystem contributing to realising Nigeria's national development strategies. It will empower Nigerian HEIs' digital transformation through research, capacity building, online course construction and sharing, technical support and networking.

Mr. Olagunju Idowu Lateef, Secretary General of the National Commission of Nigeria for UNESCO expressed great appreciation to the IIOE National Centre Initiative and encouraged more Nigerian HEIs to participate in collaboration with IIOE.

Dr Chris Maiyaki, Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, pointed out the establishment of IIOE Nigeria National Centre is a major milestone in Nigerian higher education development . This Centre has huge potential in closing the huge gap between demand and supply in higher education in Nigeria, broadening access and promoting equity in higher education, which is in alignment with Nigerian development vision. He emphasised that the NUC is fully committed to supporting the IIOE Nigeria National Centre to support Nigerian higher education system.

The NUC is the principal regulatory authority of university education in Nigeria, responsible for grant approval, quality assurance and external cooperation for over 200 Nigerian higher educational institutions serving more than 2 million higher education students.

Prof. Ahmed Doko Ibrahim, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University said that ABU is ready to take up the role as a national hub of IIOE and establish a local ecosystem of HEIs for the digital transformation of higher education in Nigeria.

Mr. Dimitri Sanga, Director of UNESCO Dakar Office, O.I.C. of UNESCO Abuja Office, expressed appreciation for UNESCO-ICHEI's and IIOE's support to higher education systems in West Africa in terms of ensuring education continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic and mainstreaming ICT in higher education. He highlighted that UNESCO-ICHEI is a key partner of UNESCO Abuja and Dakar Offices, while also congratulating ABU for being selected as the host institution of the IIOE Nigeria National Centre. As he puts it, the establishment of the IIOE Nigeria National Centre is a "proof of dynamic partnership". He also expressed hopes that the IIOE Nigeria National Centre could reach out to HEIs in Nigeria and work together towards quality higher education.

In 2022, UNESCO-ICHEI and IIOE Nigeria National Centre will implement a series of activities, including research, training, platform upgrading, etc. IIOE Nigeria National Centre will join forces with UNESCO-ICHEI to conduct research on higher education digital transformation and to apply and localise the research outcomes. IIOE Platform 2.0 will be officially launched in October to support all 6 UN official languages and dedicated IIOE Nigeria National Centre page. UNESCO-ICHEI will organise 16 training programmes, 15 webinars and conferences, in the fields of Cloud Computing, Block Chain, Education Policy, Teacher Professional Development, to support the capacity building of HEIs in Nigeria.

Prof. LI Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, said that UNESCO-ICHEI is committed to developing customized support for hardware, software and technical proposals for ABU and working with IIOE Nigeria National Centre to support Nigerian higher education digital transformation, and hoped that IIOE Nigeria National Centre could fulfil its mission. He welcomes more HEIs in Nigeria to join IIOE and chart the way forward for higher education digital transformation.