Skip to main content

FG Targets 50 Percent Broadband Penetration By The End Of 2020

 


The Federal Government said, going by its projections, digital economy would contribute more than 45 percent to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) given that the contributions of the ICT sector to the GDP stands at 17 percent.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, who disclosed this, noted the COVID 19 pandemic is fast-tracking adoption of digital technology in the country.

Pantami spoke while addressing participants at the virtual Nigeria Internet Governance Forum 2020 (vNIGF) with the theme: “Achieving Inclusive Digital Economic Development in the Post-COVID 19 Era”.


He disclosed the broadband plan 2020-2025, which focused more on broadband penetration, has started yielding the desired results given that as at July 2020 the level of broadband penetration peaked at 42.0 percent.

Pantami expressed hope that at the end of the year, it will reach at least 50 percent.

“We are making use of the covid-19 era to achieve digital economy development,” the Minister said.

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu  Abdullahi, represented by the Director, e-Government Development and Regulation Dr Vincent Olatunji described the event as apt.

Abdullahi said COVID 19 presented a new era whereby “it is important for government to ensure that the infrastructure it need to keep governance up and running are on ground and functioning untill when all government organisations fully come on board”.

Abdullahi maintained the campaign to move government businesses online which is eGovernance has now become a reality, adding that there was no other choice than for government to deliver its services online which could only be achieved with corporate internet governance.

The NITDA boss revealed that the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation is set to formally approve and recommend virtual meetings, programmes and workshops for all government officials in the country in order to facilitate digital economy.

“A lot of people see e-governance as a bigger calamity but I see it as a bigger advantage for the sector” the DG said. He added that when other sectors were losing money the IT sector was making money.

He said most government organisations went to sleep during the pandemic but for those in the IT sector; they knew they have no choice than to improve on what they were doing before.

The DG said with the pandemic, working remotely has become the norm even globally “whether you are a developed or developing nation, in the public or private sector you don’t have any choice but to use the internet to deliver on your services.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EndSARS: Protesters In New York Want SARS Operatives Sacked

 Hundreds of young anti-SARS protesters on Sunday stormed the Nigeria House in New York demanding transparency in the disbandment of the police unit back home. The protesters said operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad found wanting should be sacked and not redeployed. Among them was Stephen “Papi” Ojo, the artist, model, and choreographer who stole the show as the ‘blue-guy’ in Beyoncé’s “Already” music video. The protest started shortly after the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, announced the dissolution of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Adamu also announced plans for a new arrangement to address anticipated policing gaps following the disbandment, and the constitution of an investigative team to probe the alleged cases of rights violations, among others. But the protesters, who bore placards with different inscriptions including, “We no want audio ban”, said they were not buying it. They argued that previous commitments announced by the force to change...

Open grazing ban in South irreversible, Akeredolu replies Malami

  The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has tackled the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Shehu Malami, for faulting the ban placed on open grazing in the Southern part of the country. The Southern Governors had at a meeting in Asaba last week banned open grazing and asked the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to address the nation over the increasing rate of insecurity in the country. However, Malami who appeared as a guest on Channels Television on Wednesday faulted the ban, arguing that the governor had no right to do that. Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of Southern Governors’ Forum, spoke in a statement he personally signed on Thursday, titled, ‘ Our decision is irreversible and will be enforced ’. He asked the AGF to challenge the governor’s position on open grazing in court, adding that Malami’s comments were “ unfortunate and wicked ”. Part of the statement read, “I have just read the press statement credited to the Attorney...

Biden Announces Purchase Of 200M Vaccine Doses

  President Joe Biden announced a series of measures on Tuesday aimed at ramping up coronavirus vaccine allocation and distribution, including the purchase of 200 million more vaccine doses and increased distribution to states by millions of doses next week. With those additional doses, Biden said there would be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans -- nearly the entire US population -- by the end of summer or early fall. He described efforts to combat Covid-19 as a "wartime undertaking." We now have a national strategy to beat Covid-19. It's comprehensive. It's based on science, not politics. It's based on truth, not denial, and it is detailed," he said. As part of the new efforts announced Tuesday, the US will buy 100 million more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 100 million more from Moderna -- the two-dose vaccines that have been granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer and Moderna are working to step up p...