Abulfathi Ibrahim Saleh Al-Hussaini is a Visiting Associate Expert at the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV), appointed on 15 January.
His work supports Member States in strengthening governance mechanisms through the strategic and responsible integration of emerging technologies. His expertise spans AI governance, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT), digital public infrastructure, interoperability frameworks, and institutional capacity development, with a focus on ethical technology adoption and sustainable digital transformation in developing contexts.
As Visiting Associate Expert, Al-Hussaini is developing a Strategic Policy Roadmap and Governance Framework for integrating Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain into public administration systems in developing economies. His broader project experience includes contributing to Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, participating in ministerial-level AI stakeholder engagements, and supporting alignment activities for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and e-Government Master Plan 2.0 initiatives. He has also engaged in interoperability and government data exchange initiatives, including X-Road digital governance capacity-building and discussions related to national data exchange frameworks. His work combines policy analysis, institutional design, and technical governance support to strengthen digital transformation outcomes in the public sector.
He serves as a Digital Innovation and Emerging Technology Lead at Galaxy Backbone Plc, Nigeria’s Federal Government ICT and Digital Infrastructure Agency, within the Research, Digital Innovation & Skills Department. In this role, he supports research-driven digital transformation initiatives and contributes to national-level policy engagements on artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, and interoperability. He previously held academic leadership positions as Head of the ICT Department at Annahda College of Science and Islamic Studies (affiliated with the University of Maiduguri) and served as a Teaching Assistant at the Canadian Sudanese College. His professional experience also includes ICT solutions management in the private sector, focusing on secure systems design and cybersecurity.
Al-Hussaini engages actively in international and regional digital governance networks and multistakeholder forums. He served as a member of the Organizing Committee of the International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2025) and as a member of the Local Organizing Committee of the West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF 2025), contributing to policy dialogue on digital governance and internet governance in developing contexts. He has also participated in international conferences and policy forums across Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He is a member of the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS), the Computer Professionals’ Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), and the Government Blockchain Association (GBA).
Al-Hussaini holds a Ph.D. in Information Technology, specializing in Blockchain Technology, from the International Islamic University Malaysia. He obtained an MSc in Information Technology (Data Mining and Preprocessing) from the University of Science and Technology, Omdurman, and a BSc in Computerized Information Systems from the Canadian Sudanese College, Khartoum. He has also completed executive certification in AI and Digital Transformation in Government from the University of Oxford (Saïd Business School).