ICT Sector Saved Over N22.4Billion For Nigeria As At March 2021 – Pantami

ICT Sector Saved Over N22.4Billion For Nigeria As At March 2021 – Pantami

TECH DIGEST – As at March 2021, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector has successfully saved over N22.4 billion naira to the federal coffers by executing its mandate to support the anti-corruption drive of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, says the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).

Speaking today, Thursday, 3rd June 2021, under the auspices of the All Progressives Congress Professional Forum, the Minister addressed Nigerians giving account of his stewardship in office so far.

Pantami in a detailed discourse, gave account of the strategies deployed by the sector under his supervision to support the three point agenda of Security, Anti-Corruption and Economic development of President Muhammad Buhari.

These, the Minister said, include the development and implementation of over a dozen policies to enable the digitalisation of Nigeria in line with global best practices.

According to the Minister’s spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, he have the outstanding accounts at the Party’s headquarters in Abuja.

Pantami disclosed that the sector as at “March 2021 has successfully saved over 22.4 billion naira to the federal coffers by executing its mandate to support the Anti-corruption drive of the President Muhammad Buhari administration through the implementation of the Information Technology (IT) Projects clearance policy. Under this policy, over 727 Institutions have complied with over 323 projects cleared in accordance with the laid down guidelines”.

He cited the Policy on virtual engagements for public institutions as an impetus to fighting corruption and reducing the cost of governance while also promoting e-governance.

In the area of Economic Development, the Minister disclosed that enabling policies enacted in the sector to support the digitalisation of the economy have empowered it to provide and enhance digital capacities among the citizenry.

Dr Pantami noted that the National Policy on Entrepreneurship and Start-ups and the Digital Literacy and skills pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria, has given impetus to the acquisition of digital skills and job creation drive of the sector.

“Under the DigitalNigeria portal, over 210,000 citizens including women, youths and the physically challenged have been equipped with various digital skills for economic empowerment. These trainings are implemented in collaboration with technology giants like Microsoft, Huawei, Cisco etc., and the certificates are globally recognised and respected”.

“The establishment of a world class e-government centre in line with the e-government Master Plan also ensures that the digital training needs of the Nigerian labour force are met”, he said.

The Minister also noted that the sector has established over 300 ICT Centres, fully funded by the Federal Government across all states in the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In the area of security, the Minister noted that although it is not a direct mandate of his Ministry, it is a priority of government and therefore, sectoral policies to aid security agencies in the discharge of their duties have been developed and implemented.

He cited the National Policy on SIM registration and the revised Policy on NIN/SIM linkage as a huge boost to the nation’s security as “it is no longer business as usual for criminal elements who hitherto used stolen identities to perpetrate crime unhindered”

Recall that according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the Digital Economy Sector in its reports from the Q2 of 2020 till date, under the supervision of Dr Pantami, has retained the unprecedented position of the fastest growing sector in the nation’s economy with a whooping 14.70% growth rate.