WorldStage Newsonline– The Federal Government of Nigeria has commissioned five Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centres in the country, in its quest to develop Nigeria into a digital economy by 2030.
Dr Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, performed the ceremony virtually at the Communications and Digital Complex, on Tuesday in Abuja.
Pantami also launched digital capacity awareness programmes in three states -Ekiti, Anambra and Lagos State at the event.
He said the projects were in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s three priority areas of ensuring economic development, securing the country, and fighting corruption.
Pantami said that the ministry was mandated to develop a national digital economy policy for a digital Nigeria with eight pillars by the president.
He said that the eight pillars included developmental regulation, digital skills, solid infrastructure, service infrastructure, digital services, soft infrastructure, digital society and emerging technologies, indigenous content development and promotion.
“Today is batch seven of our commissioning of projects as it was earlier said, the projects are in alignment with the three priority areas of President Muhammadu Buhari that is, economic development, security and fighting corruption.
“These are the three priority areas of the President and we always try to ensure that the projects that we execute are directly related to these three priority areas,” he said.
Pantami said that globally, the traditional economy was being relegated by the digital economy starting from 2016.
“It is because of this that we feel it is necessary that we try to diversify our economy by focusing more on digital economy.
“However, let me clear it that we have projects in each and every state of the federation for example, 19 emergency communications centre are so far operational and we plan to continue completing the remaining by the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021.
“When it comes to smart agriculture, there is a project and training that is being conducted from one state to another, the same with a digital awareness programme for secondary schools.
“So, these projects are ongoing and we do hope that within the time frame that we have in office, we will be able to ensure that each and every state benefit from all these interventions.
“Furthermore, I want to re-emphasise here that if you look at the projects being executed by the ministry and the parastatals, you will discover that in each state, we have a minimum of four to five projects so far,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State said communication technology and digital infrastructure were very key to attaining Buhari’s vision for Nigeria.
“There’s no way we’re going to increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) there’s no way we’re going to improve the economy of Nigeria if you do not make giant stride in the area of digital economy.
“That has been proven if we were in any doubt before now but the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulty we had to face with physical contact which resulted virtual meeting just like the one we are having here today.
“I would like to further commit myself and my colleagues in the Nigerian Governors Forum to supporting any and all of these initiatives that they have put on the agenda of transformation in the communications sector, ” Fayemi said.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Adeleke Mamora, expressed delight with the achievements made, especially in the area of human capital development innovation in the ICT sector.
Mamora congratulated Pantami for a job well done.
“I am really honored and excited to be part of this. If you are talking of human capital development, you will be looking at health and education in particular.
“We know what COVID 19 has brought to the entire world and human race, we are in the age of the new normal,” he said.
Some of the projects were – Emergency Communication Centre (ECC ) Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), Ado Ekiti,
Ekiti State and School Knowledge Centre (SKC) ljaloke Grammar School Emure, Ekiti State.
