UK opens digital connectivity hub in Siun to bridge Nigeria’s digital divide

The UK government has inaugurated a community-built digital connectivity hub in Siun, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State, as part of efforts to close Nigeria's digital divide and expand internet access in underserved areas. The Siun Community Self-Built Connectivity Hub, commissioned on September 2, 2026, is one of ten such facilities being supported nationwide under the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Digital Access Programme. The project is implemented by the Initiative for Digital Inclusion (IDI), and is designed to be community-built, community-owned and community-managed to ensure long-term sustainability.

Built with locally sourced materials and powered by sustainable energy, the hub will offer residents reliable internet access, digital skills training, and a shared space for entrepreneurship, education and community learning. Speaking at the inauguration, Grace Bell, First Secretary for Economic Partnership at the FCDO, said the hub reflected the strength of community ownership in driving sustainable digital transformation, noting that empowering communities to identify their own challenges and co-create solutions makes such transformation more inclusive and impactful.

HRM Oba Lawrence Odeyinka, the Olu of Siun, whose leadership helped mobilise local participation throughout the hub's design and construction, said the facility would equip youths and market women with skills needed for the 21st century, describing it as a symbol of what communities can achieve by working together. Representing HRM Oba Dr. Michael Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, CFR, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Prof. Ajao Adenekan said the inauguration marked the opening of new opportunities for the community, not merely a new building.

The Siun hub joins similar UK-backed connectivity centres already running in Kaduna, Kwara, Abia and Ogun States, which have provided internet access and digital literacy training to underserved populations. The digital access programme forms part of the UK's broader partnership with Nigeria to promote digital inclusion, policy reform and economic opportunity through connectivity investment.