KEY POINTS

• NCS Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi advocates for strategic artificial intelligence deployment throughout Nigerian public leadership.
• Reporters should develop skills in algorithms and maintain ethical standards when covering technological topics.
• The annual NIJ meeting focuses on how AI continues to shape public and professional sectors.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has called for the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Nigeria’s public governance to combat corruption, improve transparency, and enhance service delivery.

The announcement came during Adeniyi’s appearance at the 7th NIJ convocation ceremony in Lagos on Monday. His lecture, titled “Artificial Intelligence in Public Governance: The lecture “Transforming Society through Intelligent Systems” reached an audience that included students together with media professionals and policymakers and academic community members.

Understand AI use in governance and journalism

On graduating day Adeniyi addressed new journalists about their need to get tech-wise with AI and shift from conventional news reporting methods.

According to him undergraduate students need to grasp the fundamental aspects of algorithms including training methods and evaluation techniques to pose proper questions about them.

He emphasized the importance of data analysis, algorithmic investigation, and technology policy as critical competencies in the evolving media and governance landscape.

Future graduates should build expertise within AI sectors alongside establishing relationships with stakeholders in policymaking and engineering and civil society.

Journalism in the age of AI

Future journalists need to defend their independence from tech corporations while recognizing how algorithms can distort their reports.

He recommended journalists validate their data thoroughly and maintain objectivity when dealing with subjects affected by automated systems.

Adeniyi added that journalists must develop skills that AI cannot easily replicate — such as critical thinking, investigative depth, and empathetic storytelling — to remain relevant in an increasingly automated job market.

NIJ provost: AI now dominates public space

The lecture brought attention to AI because of its expanding role across journalism and public policy according to NIJ Provost Gbenga Adefaye.

His research centered on a subject that had widespread importance to both the public and the nation he explained. “The main thing dominating the public space is ICT and organisations leveraging artificial intelligence.”

According to Adefaye the unique qualifications held by Adeniyi as both public relations specialist and national institution leader made him the right person to discuss technology and governance.