*A new report highlights the significance of online presence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s cabinet members in articulating public policies, stating digital communication is an ‘ongoing work of being visible, responsive, and human’ in the emerging Nigeria Digital Economy

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

A new report on Social Media Visibility of Nigeria鈥檚 Cabinet Ministers, in 2025, has indicated the poor digital presence of several serving members of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration’s Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The report, published by Column, a UK-based communications firm with a growing presence in Nigeria, cautioned the Tinubu administration risks losing touch with its citizens in an increasingly digitalised world.

The firm had analysed the social media visibility of serving Ministers across X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Photo: Tekedia

绿帽献妻 reports e-governance in Nigeria has been described as “the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve governance and public service delivery.”

While the Nigeria has a growing ICT market and has made strides in e-government initiatives, it still faces challenges in achieving widespread adoption and effectiveness.

The study found that Nigeria鈥檚 cabinet collectively, have reached paltry 17 million followers, barely seven percent of the West African country鈥檚 estimated 236 million citizens.

Column stated of the report: 鈥淭his report isn鈥檛 just about numbers. It鈥檚 about presence, perception, and potential.

鈥淚f the architects of public policy aren鈥檛 participating meaningfully in digital space, the strategy risks becoming performative.鈥�

X remains the dominant platform, with 51 cabinet members using it to reach 9.4 million followers, over half of the cabinet鈥檚 total digital audience.

According to the report, Facebook and Instagram follow with 4.8 million and 2.1 million respectively. TikTok and LinkedIn are used by just seven and 17 Ministers respectively.

A few high-profile figures dominate the digital landscape.

The report also noted President Tinubu, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila,

Chief of Staff (CoS) to President, and Ministers Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate (Health and Social Welfare), Barr. Festus Keyamo (Aviation and Aerospace Development), and Barr. Nyesom Wike (FCT) accounted for over 60 percent of the total reach in cyberspace.

Tinubu alone controls 26.6 percent of the cabinet鈥檚 entire digital footprint, noted the report.

On completely ‘analogue’ FEC members

In contrast, the communications firm reported that some Ministers are completely invisible online.

Two have no official social media presence at all, while several others have fewer than 500 followers.

The median audience per cabinet member is just over 64,000.

Column has described this scenario as a 鈥渄ependency on a few figures for digital communication.”

The firm stressed this undermines the Nigerian Government鈥檚 commitment to citizen engagement and transparency.

The report further highlighted a worrying trend in which Ministries with youth-facing or public-oriented mandates, including Education, Youth, Women Affairs, and Information have some of the weakest digital footprints, despite having the most to gain from active online citizen engagement.

The report noted: 鈥淢inistries tasked with public-facing mandates should be leading the charge online.

鈥淲hen they鈥檙e not, it raises questions around accessibility and inclusion.鈥�

According to the company, only Hannatu Musawa, Honourable Minister for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, was found to be active on all five major social media platforms.

Nexus between online visibility, updated content and citizen engagement

The report on Social Media Visibility of Nigeria鈥檚 Cabinet Ministers further said beyond visibility, there are also issues with social media account verification and outdated content.

It stated at least 22 Ministers have missing verified links to their accounts on one or more platforms, and two have no links at all.

The authors of the report, therefore, urged government Ministries to treat digital presence as a public service priority, not a luxury.

It also emphasised that in today’s world, 鈥渧isibility is not vanity, it鈥檚 a public good.

The report noted: 鈥淚n the digital era, the cost of not being findable is far higher than we often realise.鈥�

With social media users in Nigeria projected to exceed 100 million by 2026, Column cautioned that without stronger digital citizen engagement, the government risks appearing distant and disconnected from Nigerians.

The firm asserted: 鈥淭he tools exist. The audience is ready. What鈥檚 missing is a shift in posture.

鈥淒igital communication is the ongoing work of being visible, responsive, and human.鈥�

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