The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE), in collaboration with Meta, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), and a local developer partner, Publica AI, has announced the launch of Nigeria’s fully operational chatbot for government services, known as GovGuide Nigeria.
The announcement, made in Abuja on May 21, 2026, during Meta’s Economic Impact report launch in Nigeria, marks a significant milestone in digital governance for the country, according to Mr. Isime Esene, Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani.
Mr. Esene said the project features a new multilingual, AI-powered voice and text chatbot, designed to provide Nigerians with seamless access to comprehensive information on all government services and that the chatbot is accessible via web, supporting multiple Nigerian languages, including English, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.
The initiative, he explained, “demonstrates the socio-economic impact of open-source AI and Meta’s open source models, including Llama, specifically in Africa.”
Dr. Tijani said at the launch: “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.”
Ms Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy at Meta, also noted during the launch that “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. Built by Publica AI on our open-source models, 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. This is exactly how open-source AI creates lasting value, enabling homegrown innovation, supporting local talent, and putting powerful tools to work in service of the people who need them most.”
Highlighting the significance of the event, Mr. Ignatius Willie, the CEO of Publica AI, said, “Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government. With GovGuide Nigeria, we are not simply digitising access to public services; we are making them conversational, multilingual, and available on the channels Nigerians already use every day.”
Mr. Willie explained that GovGuide Nigeria was built in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy and NCAIR; powered by Meta’s open-source models, and shaped by hundreds of Nigerian language contributors.
He described GovGuide Nigeria as “proof that the next generation of public infrastructure for Africa can, and should, be built in Africa, in our own languages.”
