The Federal Government has partnered with 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 launch 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.
According to the ministry, 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 local technology firm Publica AI.
The statement said 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.
It added that the initiative highlighted 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.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the project aligned with the Federal Government’s efforts to improve access to public services through emerging technologies.
“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,” Tijani was quoted as saying.
He added, “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.”
According to him, the initiative would contribute to productivity growth and support the expansion of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“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 stated.
Speaking at the launch, Meta’s Head of Public Policy, Sade Dada, described open-source AI as a key driver of economic growth and productivity, noting that GovGuide Nigeria illustrated how such technologies could be applied to solve practical challenges.
“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,” Dada said.
She explained that the chatbot was built by Publica AI using Meta’s open-source models and was designed to serve a broad range of users, including people in rural communities and individuals with limited literacy levels.
“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,” she said.
Dada added that the project demonstrated how open-source AI could stimulate local innovation and support indigenous talent development.
“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,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Publica AI, Ignatius Willie, described the initiative as a significant step towards transforming interactions between citizens and government institutions.
“Today is not just a product launch. It is a step towards democratising how Nigerians engage with their government,” Willie said.
“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.”
He noted that the chatbot was developed through collaboration among government agencies, technology partners and contributors from across Nigeria’s linguistic communities.
According to him, GovGuide Nigeria was “powered by Meta’s open-source models, and shaped by hundreds of Nigerian language contributors.”
Willie said the project demonstrated Africa’s capacity to develop indigenous digital public infrastructure tailored to local realities.
“GovGuide Nigeria is proof that the next generation of public infrastructure for Africa can, and should, be built in Africa, in our own languages,” he added.