The Nigerian Software Testing Qualifications Board (NGSTQB) has called for stronger professional capacity and industry collaboration to implement NITDA’s software testing guidelines and improve software quality in Nigeria.
The President of NGSTQB, Dr Tajudeen Onikoyi, said this during the 2026 NGSTQB webinar on Thursday in Lagos. The theme of the webinar was “The NITDA Software Testing Guidelines: From Policy to Practice,” focusing on translating national software testing requirements into effective industry practices.
According to Onikoyi, the guidelines establishes minimum testing requirements, promotes risk-based assessments and introduces independent evaluation through licensed software testing organisations. He highlighted the framework’s potential to strengthen public confidence in digital services, create opportunities for the software testing industry and promote internationally aligned quality assurance practices.
However, Onikoyi stressed that publishing a policy was different from implementing it, urging stakeholders to address gaps in professional competence, organisational processes, testing tools and institutional structures. “Policy sets the standards, professional competence enables implementation, while consistent practice ensures quality in software development and deployment,” he said.
Speaking on the framework’s implementation, Mr Emmanuel Edet, Acting Director, Regulatory Services, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), explained that the guidelines were designed to address inconsistent development practices, inadequate testing and the absence of a regulated quality assurance ecosystem.
Edet highlighted the consequences of poor testing, including system failures at launch, security vulnerabilities discovered after deployment and government-funded portals that citizens struggled to access using mobile devices.
He disclosed that software must undergo independent assessment by licensed testing organisations before deployment, stressing that quality assurance should remain a priority even when projects faced budgetary or time constraints. Speaking on the practical implications, Mr Abimbola Babalola, Head of Agile Solutions and Practice Centre, argued that testing should establish whether applications could deliver safe and meaningful outcomes under real-world conditions.
Babalola cited the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, which killed 157 people, to illustrate the potentially devastating consequences of software design and safety failures. He also referenced a Nigerian government-sponsored blockchain-based payment application whose initial downloads did not translate into sustained usage, highlighting the difference between technical functionality and public adoption.
“Software testing should go beyond functionality to establish whether applications meet users’ needs and gain public acceptance. An unused product is not a successful one,” Babalola said. Babalola added that testing environments should reflect Nigerian conditions, including intermittent connectivity, power interruptions, lower-end devices, accessibility needs and sudden increases in user traffic.
Speaking during a panel session, Mr Abubakar Umar, Team Lead, Digital Transformation and Governance, IT Department, NITDA, advised organisations to document their software systems, identify risks, budget for testing and engage licensed testing organisations before deployment. Umar explained that testing should be integrated throughout the software development lifecycle rather than treated as a final step before release.
Also, Mr Opeyemi Olugunojin, Head of Testing and Quality Assurance, Union Bank Nigeria, stressed that testing requirements should reflect an application’s risk, particularly where failures could affect financial transactions and customers’ funds. Olugunojin urged organisations to empower quality assurance teams to prevent releases when critical defects remained unresolved, while maintaining test scripts, recordings and results to support release decisions.
Speaking during a panel session, Mrs Fatima Mera, Legal and Technology Policy Professional at NITDA, explained that risk classification was intended to establish testing requirements objectively, while allowing sector regulators to introduce additional safeguards.
Mera stressed that organisations remained accountable for software quality even when external providers developed or tested their applications, urging them to specify testing expectations and evidence requirements in procurement documents and service-level agreements. She warned that certification could become a paperwork exercise if organisations failed to address identified defects, use test results to guide release decisions or reassess applications after significant changes.
Commenting, Founder of The Bug Detective, Ms Abiola Rasaq cautioned that seemingly minor software modifications could affect other functions, highlighting the need for regression testing and effective change management. Rasaq also warned that independent testing and certification could delay software releases if organisations failed to incorporate the requirements into their development schedules from the outset, urging early planning.
